Cologne (dpa / lnw) – The German Stage Association and three artists’ unions have agreed on a significant increase in the minimum wage for solo workers and stage technicians in theaters. As the stage club announced on Tuesday in Cologne, the minimum fee of 2000 euros is to be raised in two stages. From September 1, 2022, 2550 euros will be paid first and then 2715 euros from January 1, 2023. According to the current theater statistics, around 12,500 people are employed nationwide under the stage collective agreement. It is unclear how many of them receive the minimum fee.
“The guest fees will also be increased accordingly and thus also experience an increase of more than 35 percent,” explained the stage association about the agreement with the cooperative of German stage members, the association of German opera and dance ensembles and the Federal Association of Drama. The collective bargaining parties have also agreed to make the minimum fee dynamic from the 2023/24 collective bargaining round, the stage association announced.
The conclusion is a financial challenge for the theaters, explained the theater association, which represents the employers’ side in collective bargaining. The theaters urgently need the consent of the legal entity to bear this additional expense. The agreement came about in the fourth round of collective bargaining.
