BERLIN (MNI) – German state government employers and public sector
trade unions agreed Thursday evening on a two-year pay accord for some
585,000 employees in the sector.

Under the deal, public sector employees will get a one-off payment
of E360 and a regular raise of 1.5% from April 1. On January 1, 2012
they will get another 1.9% pay hike plus E17 per month, which amounts to
an effective average raise of some 2.55%, the Verdi trade union said.
The pay deal runs until December 31, 2012.

Verdi and other smaller public sector unions had entered the pay
talks with a demand equivalent to an average pay rise of 5%. In detail,
the unions wanted all monthly wages to be increased by E50 and then to
be raised by another 3%. They were aiming for a contract duration of 14
months. The current pay contract expired on December 31, 2010.

–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com

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