Berlin Hospital Chain Signs Landmark Pay Deal as Structural Deficit Exceeds €120 Million
Published on 06/23/2026 at 18:44 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Berlin’s largest hospital operator, Vivantes, has struck a collective-bargaining agreement with the ver.di union that will gradually lift the wages of roughly 2,200 workers in its subsidiaries to the level of the public sector — even as the company grapples with a structural deficit topping €120 million.
The deal, which runs for an unusually long 72 months until 31 December 2031, aims to ease a persistent pay gap without pushing the financially strained clinic group into deeper trouble. Under the terms, base salaries will rise in stages and reach the full TVöD scale — Germany’s benchmark public-service pay system — by July 2031.
Union members approved the compromise in a strike ballot on 22 June, with around 70% voting in favour. The agreement remains provisional, however: ratification by the governing bodies of both sides is required by 3 July.
Beyond wage increases, the pact includes a reduction in weekly working hours from 39 to 38.5, effective December 2030. New shift allowances will be introduced from 2029 — €80 per month for regular shift work and €200 for rotating shifts. The existing annual special payment of €2,000 will be retained.
Vivantes’ management has been blunt about the financial risks. The company is carrying a structural deficit of more than €120 million, and it faces additional revenue losses of roughly €70 million per year as a result of the coming statutory health-insurance reform (GKV-Reform). The negotiated package, management says, pushes the boundaries of what the operator can sustain.
The agreement represents a balancing act between satisfying the workforce and keeping the hospital group economically viable. For the 2,200 employees in the subsidiaries, the path to pay parity is long but now certain — a rare achievement in a sector where public-sector wage alignment has often remained out of reach.
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