As he should; tiling is highly skilled labor -- closer to applied art than construction, really -- and destroys your body.
We work with Java devs in the Balkans and $70-130/hr is normal.
Where in Europe do tile guys make more than that? (I’m assuming that Java rates have some global or at least EU stickiness)
Java dev pay is far far more variable than tile laying: $20-$130/hr
$20-130/hr seems to be a reasonable range for tile laying (at least in California). A semi-skilled day laborer may charge $150/day and $100/hr is reasonable or even hard to find for a highly skilled artisan.