Overview
- Verdi calibrated its wage demand at 5.7% after a summer 'Stärketest' recruited 175 new bank employees instead of the 400 needed to justify an 8% claim.
- The union has scheduled a three-round negotiation campaign with the employers' association for private banks starting Thursday, October 8, with follow-up talks on November 2 in Frankfurt and November 23 in Berlin.
- Verdi says the talks will cover more than pay and will press for protections against dismissals, clearer rules on partial retirement and home office, and binding arrangements for the use of AI in bank work.
- The 2026 private-bank round builds on a 2024 agreement that raised wages by 10.5% in staged steps and on warning strikes that shaped expectations for how disputes may escalate.
- Verdi plans to run a similar membership-backed campaign ahead of separate negotiations with public-sector banks in March 2027 for roughly 68,000 employees.