ARTICLE · 09 OCTOBER 2026

National Action Plan To Promote Collective Bargaining

DLA Piper

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In July 2026, the German Federal Government adopted the National Action Plan to Promote Collective Bargaining (Action Plan) and submitted it to the Bundestag in September 2026.

GermanyEmployment and HR

In July 2026, the German Federal Government adopted the National Action Plan to Promote Collective Bargaining (Action Plan) and submitted it to the Bundestag in September 2026. Its aim is to reverse the decline in collective bargaining coverage in Germany. A closer look shows that most of the measures in the Action Plan are already in place. Employers should therefore look carefully at which of the announced plans are actually new.

Background

Under the EU Minimum Wage Directive, every Member State with collective bargaining coverage below 80% must put forward an action plan to increase it. With coverage of only around 49% (as of 2024), Germany falls well short of this threshold. The Federal Cabinet adopted the plan on 22 July 2026 and submitted it to the Bundestag.

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