TVStud – What’s that?

TVStud = Tarifvertrag für Studentische Beschäftigte (Collective agreement for student employees) We want the employment relationships of all student employees at universities and non-university research institutions to be regulated by a collective agreement and thus put an end to precarious working conditions. This means more planning security, better economic protection and a shift in the power asymmetry in which student employees currently lose out to employers.

Why do we need that? Is it really that bad?

Of course, not all student assistants have lousy working conditions, but this should not depend on the goodwill of their superiors and should be better protected. Because for many of us, the conditions are really precarious and minimum labour law standards are not observed, not to mention the low pay at (or just above) the minimum wage level. You can find facts and figures on this in the study “Young, Academic, Precarious” published at the beginning of 2023: results You can find more information on the website of the nationwide TVStud network: www.tvstud.de (There you can also sign up for the newsletter and as a TVStud ambassador to stay up to date on the nationwide collective bargaining movement).

Current situation of the collective bargaining movement

The next round of collective bargaining for public sector employees in the federal states is scheduled for the 2025/26 winter semester. The demand for a collective agreement for student employees and thus the improvement of our working conditions will be back on the agenda. The survey on demands will run from September 1 to October 31, and negotiations between trade unions and employers (the collective bargaining association of the federal states) will begin in December. Further information on the survey of demands can be found here:  https://tvstud.de/2025/09/03/jetzt-an-der-forderungsbefragung-fuer-die-tarifrunde-der-laender-2025-26-teilnehmen/

Get active/Join in!

Would you also like to actively campaign for a collective agreement and to improve the working conditions of student employees? Then get in touch with us or simply come along to our meetings.

Contact the TVStud-Initiave Rostock

via Mail: rostock@tvstud.de on Instagram : @tvstud_hro Instagram Join our local Telegram networking group: Telegram

Information from the trade unions ver.di and GEW on TVStud

ver.di-Seite zu TVStud  ; https://www.gew-mv.de/themen/tv-stud

Other links and notes

Unfortunately, we are not allowed to vote for or run for the WPR (Scientific Staff Council), but at least it is also responsible for representing student employees at the university. On November 1, 2023, a partial staff meeting of student employees was held at our university for the first time in cooperation with the WPR. Since then, there have been further partial staff meetings where student employees could find out about their rights and possible contact persons and networking opportunities. You can find the WPR website here: staff council If you have a contract as an assistant/tutor at the university, you will automatically be added to the group for academic staff and assistants on Stud.IP. It is also worth taking a look at the announcements or uploaded documents there.