Church Labour Law - Church and Diakonie sue for strikes threats
The Evangelical Church in Middle Germany (EKM) and the Diakonie are suing the trade union verdi over threats of strikes at the Sophien- and Hufeland-Clinicum Weimar. The union should desist from calling on or organizing strikes or other labor dispute measures at the clinic, the statement reads. The complaint was filed at the Labor Court in Erfurt. No statements have been received yet from the contested verdi regional branches in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia, as well as the court.
According to the church, the union has already made several threats of strikes and demanded tariff negotiations outside the church framework. "And although the affected evangelical hospital repeatedly stated that it was not authorized to enter into tariff negotiations with the union and that strikes in church-diaconal institutions were not permitted," the joint statement reads.
Church Labor Law
The plaintiffs refer to the self-determination rights of the churches and the so-called "Third Way" in church labor law. Decisions should ideally be made by consensus. Conflicts are not to be resolved through labor strife, but through a binding arbitration procedure. Questions regarding compensation, working hours, or vacation are clarified in labor commission hearings. In these commissions, employees and employers are represented with an equal number of people and votes.
Oberkirchenrat Christoph Stolte, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Diakonie Mitteldeutschland, stated that the labor commission operates independently and is not bound by instructions. Understanding and consensus are fundamental principles.
At the Sophien- and Hufeland-Clinicum, the labor regulations of the Diakonie Mitteldeutschland apply. According to the statements, wages were increased by 4.9% at the beginning of this year, while the weekly working hours were reduced from 40 to 39 hours. In the coming year, there should reportedly be another wage increase of 5.4% and an additional vacation day.
- The lawsuit against verdi in Middle Germany is being handled by the Evangelical Church in Middle Germany (EKM) and the Diakonia, specifically at the Labor Court in Erfurt.
- The Union United Services Trade Union, which is not mentioned in the original text, should take note of the church's stance on labor disputes and tariff negotiations, given that such matters are governed by the Church Labor Law in Thuringia.
- The Middle Germany Chapter of the Trade Union verdi has been accused of making threats of strikes and demanding tariff negotiations outside the church framework at the Sophien- and Hufeland-Clinicum in Weimar, which is governed by the Diakonia's labor regulations.
- As indicated by Oberkirchenrat Christoph Stolte, the labor commission in Saxony-Anhalt operates independently and encourages understanding and consensus over labor strife, which aligns with the church's approach to conflict resolution in accordance with the "Third Way" in church labor law.
- The developments at the Sophien- and Hufeland-Clinicum in Weimar could potentially have broader implications for labor law and industrial relations in other church-diaconal institutions throughout Middle Germany, including those in nearby Erfurt and Saxony-Anhalt.
