Student wages and conditions as an auto technician.
How the fluid works and what can leak from it
One of the good things about vocational education is that you earn money while you learn. When you have a training agreement with a company, you get apprentice wages — also during the periods when you're at school. This sets you apart from many other students who live on student grants.
§Why does salary increase over time?
The apprentice wages are typically stepped up so they increase the further you get in the education. The logic is simple: the more you can the greater value you create for the company and that is reflected in the wages. At the beginning you can less and need to be trained a lot while towards the end you can often solve tasks more independently.
§What is a collective agreement?
A collective agreement is an agreement between employers and the employees' organizations about salary and working conditions in a trade. It sets among other things minimum rates for apprentice wage allowances working hours pension and other rights. When your company is covered by a collective agreement you have the conditions stated in it — regardless of what else you agree to.
- 01Minimum wage and wage increases through the course
- 02Supplement for odd working hours, weekends and on-call at night
- 03Pension contribution
- 04Rules on working hours, breaks and rest time
- 05Terms during illness and vacation
§Irregular hours are part of the trade
Cars break down around the clock, and much of roadside assistance therefore takes place outside normal office hours — evening, night, weekends and holidays. This often means shifts and on-call duties, and it is typically associated with allowances. It is part of the conditions you must be able to see yourself in: the work is not 8 to 4.
§When you are skilled.
As a fully trained roadside assistant you move from apprentice wages to skilled wages. You are now a skilled employee with a journeyman's certificate and can take independent responsibility for tasks on the road. Skilled conditions typically include a higher basic wage than apprentice time continued collective agreement coverage at many employers and better opportunities to negotiate because you have proof of your skills.
“You earn while you learn — and your journeyman's certificate is proof that follows you for the rest of your career.”
If you are in doubt about your rights, remember that the union is there to help. They know the collective agreement in your area and can check whether your wages and conditions are as they should be.