Termination NV Stage

GDBA and BFFS have terminated our NV Bühne collective agreement with effect from December 31.

Here we have compiled FAQs with a few important answers for you, which we update regularly.

Terminating collective agreements is normal for trade unions; it has something to do with the so-called "peace obligation". This means that trade unions may only take industrial action to enforce their demands once the collective agreement has been terminated. 

However, the dismissal does not automatically mean that we are calling for strikes. First of all, we will continue our efforts to achieve the necessary improvements through negotiations. The dismissal is a sign that we must now join forces to tackle the necessary reforms of the NV Bühne and implement them effectively. 

Collective bargaining will continue in September. As soon as the trade unions and the Stage Association have agreed on improvements, all parties to the collective agreement will sign the amended NV Bühne.

Nothing for the time being, as all rules continue to apply automatically "until a new agreement has been reached", according to the Collective Bargaining Act. If no agreement is reached by the end of the year, this "subsequent effect" will apply. The Bühnenverein also recommends that the theaters continue to apply the NV Bühne for all employees.

As long as the individual employment contract refers to the NV Bühne collective agreement, nothing will change for the time being. The Bühnenverein recommends that theaters also refer to the NV Bühne in all contracts that come into effect from 2025.

Contact the legal department, we will support you. 

recht@gdba.de

+49 (0) 40 4328244-11
Mon-Fri 9.30 a.m. - 4.30 p.m.
Fridays 9.30 a.m. - 1.00 p.m.

In principle, the collective agreement still only applies to union members. In practice, however, the theaters apply the collective agreement to everyone.

It is always an advantage to be a member of a trade union. The more we are, the more seriously we are taken.

All employees benefit from our successes, even those who are not members. But free-riding is a lack of solidarity.

Anyone who wants a better NV stage, with a non-renewal right without arbitrariness, with regulated working hours for more relief and predictability and many other reforms, should become a member now at the latest.

For chairpersons and deputies, the non-renewal protection continues to apply as normal due to the reference to the NV Bühne in the employment contract.

It is particularly important for the GDBA to have a direct line to all theaters right now. Employees also benefit from this. If there is not yet a local association at your theater, now is exactly the right time to found one.

Yes, we agreed this with the German Stage Association back in March. The aim is to conclude a joint adjustment collective agreement for the TV-L and TV-H pay scales. This collective agreement will then also apply beyond the termination of the NV Bühne.

The unions had long since decided to terminate the collective agreement. The termination is therefore not a reaction to the current negotiations.

Conversely, however, the working time model presented by the Bühnenverein is already a reaction to the dismissal.

The Bühnenverein's model is partly based on the results of the workshop and the negotiations with the trade unions and therefore goes in the right direction in some respects. In other respects, it still offers too little protection against overwork. For the trade unions, for example, it is not acceptable if working hours can be up to 10 hours on all performance days. This does not even include individual preparation. This may be necessary in exceptional cases, but should not be possible in principle. The proposed regulations to compensate for these additional burdens are also still inadequate. For example, they allow for 46 hours to be scheduled each week during an entire rehearsal phase.

The statement is wrong, the stage association itself always wanted an independent collective agreement for guests. Such a TV guest would of course also be possible with a terminated NV Bühne.

The trade unions and the Bühnenverein had already agreed on the content of the first collective wage agreement for guests. However, the Bühnenverein wanted to postpone the entry into force of these regulations into the distant future, while the trade unions assumed that guests would benefit from these regulations immediately.

By refusing to negotiate for guests, the stage association is apparently simply trying to ensure that the regulations that have already been agreed only come into effect in the distant future. Ultimately, it is punishing the guest artists for the fact that the BFFS and GDBA are pursuing their trade union activities and have terminated the NV Bühne.

Employers' associations and trade unions can conclude (collective) agreements that deal with pay and general working conditions. (e.g. salary, vacation, working hours, days off).

There are two collective agreements for artists at theaters that are publicly funded: the TVK (collective agreement for musicians in concert and theater orchestras) and the NV Bühne (standard stage agreement). While the TVK only applies to orchestra musicians, the NV Bühne applies to all other artistic employees with special regulations for soloists, stage technology, choir and dance. 

The NV Bühne has been negotiated and signed by the three trade unions BFFS, GDBA and VdO and, on the employers' side, by the German Stage Association. All theaters that are members of the German Stage Association must apply the NV Bühne. 

The NV Bühne has existed for soloists as "NV Solo" since 1924 and was merged with the contracts for choir, dance and stage technology in 2003 to form the NV Bühne. 

Each individual employment contract must be based on this collective agreement. Only if the conditions are better for the member may the employment contract deviate from the NV Bühne.

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