WIESBADEN (dpa-AFX) - Collective bargaining has begun for the more than 900,000 employees in the construction industry. The employers and the Industrial Union for Construction, Agriculture and the Environment (IG BAU) met in Wiesbaden on Thursday, as both sides reported. In the afternoon, the negotiations were adjourned to March 5 in Berlin without a result.

The union entered the wage negotiations with a blanket demand for 500 euros more per month in order to raise the salaries of the lower wage groups disproportionately. This is where two thirds of people are employed.

According to IG BAU, 500 euros would mean an increase of 21 percent in the lowest wage group. The union argues in particular that consumer prices have risen sharply since the last agreement in fall 2021, with inflation rates of 7.9 percent (2022) and 5.9 percent (2023) since then.

The employers demanded an agreement that would have to be sustainable for all companies in view of the weakening construction industry and the continuing slump in demand in residential construction. The scope for distribution was limited.

IG-BAU negotiator Carsten Burckhardt accused the employers of failing to recognize the real wage losses suffered by employees. "We have to put a decent shovel on the current wages and salaries, if only to retain and attract workers and skilled workers for the construction industry," he said./ceb/DP/mis