35 years after unity, equal pay in East and West

A good 35 years after German reunification, a uniform wage will apply for the first time on construction sites in East and West Germany from April 1st. According to the IG Bauen Agrar Umwelt (IG BAU) union, salaries in the East will rise by 5.3 percent, even more strongly than in the West (plus 3.9 percent), in order to close the gap that has existed for many years.

The union vice-president Carsten Burckhardt described the implementation of the third stage of the collective agreement concluded in 2024 as a historic step. “More than 35 years after reunification, the following finally applies: one country – one wage, one salary. The complete equalization of incomes in East and West will end decades of unequal treatment,” he explains, according to a statement. They worked towards this with great persistence, including a strike that lasted almost three weeks.

Around 920,000 women and men work in the construction industry across Germany; in the West alone there are significantly more than 600,000. According to IG BAU, the current collective agreement expires on March 31, 2027.

By Editor