Cleaners Could Work 70 Years for an Average Pension: German Union Pushes for €2/ Hour Raise
18.06.2026 - 02:11:03 | boerse-global.de
Conventional wisdom says a full career guarantees a comfortable retirement. For Germany's roughly 700,000 building cleaners, that math does not add up. A full-time cleaner would need to work more than seven decades just to earn a pension equal to the average German's, according to union calculations shared on the "Day of Building Cleaning" on 15 June.
The figure emerged as the IG BAU union wrapped up its demands for the upcoming round of collective bargaining. Talks are set to begin 9 September for an industry that generates around €29.5 billion in annual revenue. The union is seeking a €2-per-hour increase for all employee groups, with a contract term of 12 months. If successful, the lowest wage tier would climb to €17 an hour, while skilled glass and façade cleaners would see a target of €20.40 per hour.
Bernhard Heizmann, a regional IG BAU official in Middle Franconia, called the looming old-age poverty a political scandal. "Unless salaries are adjusted, respect for this work remains an empty phrase," he said, urging members of the Bundestag to act. In his district alone, roughly 980 cleaning workers operate in the Nuremberg Land county.
The union and its sister organisation ver.di have taken an unusual route to press their case: cinema. On 14 June, about 50 guests gathered at the Cinema Arthouse in Osnabrück to watch "Ich verstehe Ihren Unmut" (I Understand Your Dissatisfaction), a Berlinale film that exposes precarious conditions in the sector. A second screening is scheduled for 19 June at Berlin's ACUD Kino, where Tuna Kaptan's film "Rohbau" (Shell Construction) tackles exploitation and migration on large construction sites. A discussion on labour conditions and migration will follow.
Internationally, the fight for better conditions is also visible. On 16 June, unions in Nepal demanded stronger climate-protection measures for cleaning and security staff. A UNI Global Union report evaluated over 5,000 responses from 21 countries and called for national heat-protection guidelines and weather-appropriate protective gear. In Switzerland, the Unia union has stepped up on-site inspections; at temperatures above 30°C, extra breaks and drinking water are mandatory.
Back in Osnabrück, waste-management company AWIGO plans a campaign on 23 June for the national Day of Public Services, placing its roughly 400 employees at the centre of the event. The message, organisers say, is that care for the people who clean, collect, and maintain is long overdue.
