Collectively agreed wages in temporary employment will rise on April 1. This also increases the number of cases in which temporary workers earn better than permanent employees.

The next collective wage increase for temporary staffing takes effect at the beginning of the month. As a result, the minimum wage for temporary staffing will rise to 13 euros per hour, one euro above the current statutory minimum wage. Collectively agreed wages will rise by an average of 6.8 percent across all pay groups.

Collectively agreed wages are of real relevance mainly in the lowest pay groups. Skilled workers in the industry have been earning above the collective wage agreement for years. The general shortage of skilled workers in Germany is making itself felt here. Temporary employment statistics from the German Federal Employment Agency show that one in two temporary workers (57 percent) is employed as an unskilled worker. This is why collective bargaining decisions are most relevant in these pay groups.

"In the long term, we can expect the gap between the wage floor in temporary staffing and the statutory minimum wage to widen," predicts Andreas Nusko, managing director at staffing services provider Franz & Wach. "This development is propagated by the unions. The staffing service providers are going along with it because the distance to the minimum wage also promises them more success in recruiting employees. At the same time, however, this also increases the cases in which people in temporary employment earn more than permanent support staff. Even in the same company," reports Andreas Nusko. Industries in which this is particularly common are the food industry and logistics.