The gender pay gap for workers who are not covered by a collective agreement has widened over the past decade, while it has narrowed for those who are. According to the German federal government’s reply to a written question from the Left parliamentary group-reported by the “Rheinische Post” in its Saturday edition-women without a collective agreement earned, on average, €3.76 less per hour than men in 2014. By 2025, that difference had grown to €4.03. In contrast, for employees with a collective agreement the gap fell from €4.40 in 2014 to €4.03 in 2025.
These figures demonstrate that, on average, workers covered by collective agreements earn more than those who are not. Pascal Meiser, the labour spokesperson for the Left, highlighted the effectiveness of collective bargaining: “The government’s numbers again clearly show that collective agreements not only lead to higher wages overall, but also keep the wage difference between women and men significantly smaller in firms bound by such agreements”. He added that every step toward greater collective agreement coverage is an important contribution to gender equality and fair pay for women.
