What advantages do you have as a trade union member?

If you join a trade union, it will support you. Trade unions, for example, offer:

• Free advice and information about rights under collective agreements, unemployment claims and company pension schemes.
• Support in the event of a dispute with the employer
• Free legal advice and free legal protection (for example, also in the event of a dispute with the employers' liability insurance association or with pension, health, nursing care or unemployment insurance)
• Seminars for qualification and further training on occupational and socio-political topics for members
• Strike pay in the event of strikes (if the employer does not pay wages due to the strike)

Please note: you usually won’t receive legal representation from the trade union in the first three months of your union membership.

Only as a trade union member can you claim holiday pay and Christmas bonuses, among other things, in court, as you are entitled to them. If you are not a member, you do not have this entitlement, instead you are dependent on your employer granting you the collectively agreed benefits (exception: generally binding collective agreement). The more members a trade union has, the greater its political influence.