Wage increases of 5 percent in two stages
The collectively agreed companies in the Diaconal Elderly Care Association of Hesse (DV.DAH) have agreed with ver.di on wage increases of 5 percent in two stages. In addition, the lower pay groups will benefit from an increase in the wage scale. The collective bargaining agreement, which for the first time is both industry-appropriate and church-compliant, is proving its worth once again.
Elderly care is short of staff. Therefore, politicians have taken the right step: They are providing the skilled workers with three-year training, which is in short supply everywhere, with elder care assistants with one-year (or in the future, one-and-a-half-year) training. "As an employer, we want to be particularly attractive to this new and growing target group in our Diakonie facilities. Therefore, we have increased wages in the bottom four of our eight pay brackets by an additional percentage," says Pastor Oswald Beuthert, spokesperson for the DV.DAH and spokesperson for our management team at DIAKO Altenhilfe Nordwaldeck gGmbH.
DV.DAH stands for the employer association Diakonische Altenhilfe Hessen (Diaconal Elderly Care Hesse). In 2022, the association, with ver.di as its social partner, concluded a nationwide, unique collective bargaining agreement for its affiliated facilities, which, for the first time, is both industry-appropriate and church-compliant. In DV.DAH facilities, not only is remuneration above average; they are also pioneers in terms of working hours – key words being weekly working hours and fixed weekends off – for an industry that requires 24-hour organization. "The current wage agreement is the second since then and once again impressively demonstrates its innovative strength," Beuthert said, praising the social partnership that DV.DAH and ver.di are shaping in a contemporary and balanced way.
A second special feature of the new wage agreement: It was agreed well in advance in order to ensure agreement with the funding bodies by the time it takes effect. Lead negotiator Peter Wieseler, a lawyer and collective bargaining expert at DV.DAH, explains: "Social services such as elderly care are refinanced by funding bodies such as health and elderly care insurance funds. If salaries rise, refinancing usually lags behind by months or even years, which puts financial pressure on the facilities." Therefore, it was particularly important for the employers to negotiate early with the ver.di union; the current wage agreement is actually valid until the end of 2025. Beuthert emphasizes: "The fact that we are so early and have also negotiated for two more years, i.e., until the end of 2027, gives us the urgently needed planning security."
The agreement in detail: In two stages at the beginning of 2026 and 2027, wages will be increased by 2,5 percent each. In addition, structurally lower pay groups will be gradually increased, and training allowances will be raised to, for example, €1.750 in the third year of training. This means that wages within the scope of the DV.DAH are above average compared to the rest of Hesse; training allowances and starting salaries are even among the top range.
Pastor Oswald Beuthert summarizes the current pay round, which was characterized by exceptionally productive cooperation: "The worst thing for our team is when there is a shortage of colleagues. Because that takes its toll on everyone. Therefore, it is in the interest of us as employers, as well as the union, to offer good working conditions and attractive salaries. We have achieved this again."