Labour Court recommends terms for Goethe Institute pay settlement

The Labour Court recommended that workers at the Goethe Institute accept the monetary offer made by the Institute, subject to conditions on former employees, future pay and union participation in benchmarking. Its recommendation was dated 1 November 2006. The union sought unpaid increases under Sustaining Progress, arrangements for future national pay agreements and a role in benchmarking. The Institute said it needed approval from its German funder and could not sustain the added costs. The Court said the parties had reached substantial agreement but still had unresolved issues. It recommended that former staff receive the offer for their period of employment and that the union be facilitated in representing members in future benchmarking exercises.