Collective agreements cover 49% in Germany, other EU nations higher

The number of employees in Germany working under a collective bargaining agreement remained constant at 49% in 2025, the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden reported on Friday.

But that rate is far lower than the 85% seen through the mid-1990s, according to the Economic and Social Science Institute (WSI) of the union-affiliated Hans Boeckler Foundation.

The 49% is also significantly lower than in Belgium, France, Austria and Sweden, said Thorsten Schulten, a collective bargaining expert at the WSI. These countries show that a much higher coverage was possible, he said.

"Collective agreements are the most important guarantee for good wages and working conditions," Schulten said. They make a key contribution to social cohesion.

"That is why it is alarming that not even half of all employees in Germany are still protected by a collective agreement," he said.

Schulten described the new data as a wake-up call for politicians to finally take measures to strengthen the collective bargaining system. "The recently adopted federal collective bargaining compliance law, under which federal public contracts are to go only to companies that comply with collective agreements, can only be a first step here."

Wide gap between sectors

The data showed major differences among the sectors in 2025, with 100% coverage in public administration, defence and social security sectors, followed by energy supply companies at 84%, education and teaching at 79% and the financial and insurance sector at 68%.

The sectors with the lowest coverage in 2025 were agriculture, forestry and fishing at 10%, arts, entertainment and recreation at 21% and real estate activities at 21%.

The accommodation and food services sector and professional, scientific and technical activities were also far behind at 23% each.