In February 2002, new collective agreements were signed in the German tourism industry, providing for a 2.4% pay increase, a new pension scheme and a 'hardship clause'. With tourism facing severe problems in the wake of the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the USA, the new agreements seek to help the industry through the current hard times.
On 14 January 2002, the Unified Service Sector Union (Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, ver.di) and the Employers' Association for the Travel Agencies and Tourism Industry (Arbeitgebervereiningung im Deutschen Reisebüro und Reiseveranstalterverband, DRV-Tarifgemeinschaft) concluded new collective agreements for about 77,100 employees in the German tourism industry, which includes companies such as Thomas Cook, TUI and Rewe.
The previous agreement had expired in October 2001, but in the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks on the USA, the collective bargaining parties decided to postpone negotiations over a new deal. The new pay agreement reached in January provides for a 2.4% pay rise, taking effect from 1 May 2002 and running until 31 October 2002. This means a total of seven months without pay increases for employees. Vocational training pay will also be increased by 2.4% while apprentices in east Germany will be paid an additional EUR 15 on top of this. The annual holiday bonus in east and west Germany will be raised by EUR 19 to a minimum of EUR 1,075.
In addition, ver.di and DRV-Tarifgemeinschaft agreed to offer employees an opportunity to convert part of their income directly into pension assets, a method of pension investment already introduced in some other sectors (DE0111201F). They also agreed to set up a joint committee to evaluate the opportunities for creating a joint industry-level pension fund.
In a separate agreement on employment security (Beschäftigungssicherungstarifvertrag), ver.di and DRV-Tarifgemeinschaft have created new opportunities for measures to safeguard employment. For a maximum period of nine months (though follow-up agreements are permitted), it may be agreed at company level to reduce weekly working time to 30 hours without wage compensation for the employees concerned. In addition, a so-called 'hardship clause' may benefit those companies which are on the brink of bankruptcy. Pending consent by the parties to the agreement and for a limited time only, such companies will be allowed to reduce monthly pay or other components of pay.
In a written statement, ver.di called the agreement a partial success, which came after long and difficult negotiations. Although the tourism and travel industry is still in trouble, the union particularly welcomes the general structural wage increase, which it believes will provide a sound basis for any future negotiations. DRV-Tarifgemeinschaft states that the new collective agreement enables employees to keep up with general pay developments in Germany, even in a difficult business environment.