Dispute over wages for service staff at university hospitals

After strikes - Dispute over wages for service staff at university hospitals

At the Regensburg University Clinic, a solution to the conflict with service staff is being signed after multiple strikes. An understanding could be reached on central points for a wage agreement with the employer side, according to the union Verdi on Thursday. The wage adjustment is planned to align wages with the tariff contracts of the states by 2027. This adjustment is to take place in several steps. The first wage increases are planned for October 1, 2024. However, details such as the question of an annual bonus are still open, according to Verdi.

The union hopes for a signaling effect from the prospect of an agreement in Regensburg for Würzburg and Erlangen. There, service staff have been protesting for weeks for wage justice.

The conflict concerns approximately 2400 service staff employed at subsidiaries of the clinics. They earn less, according to their own statements, than their colleagues directly employed at the clinics and doing the same work. In the past weeks, they have gone on strike several times. This includes employees from the kitchens and cafeterias, cleaning and disinfection, reception, logistics, and patient escort and transport services.

The Würzburg UKW Service GmbH responded during the strikes that they saw no reason for wage negotiations, as there is already a valid tariff contract. According to them, this is the flat-rate tariff contract of the building cleaning craftsmen. This tariff contract is still in effect and is regularly negotiated with the union IG BAU (Industrial Union Building-Agriculture-Environment).

UKW Service GmbH KSG Erlangen

1. The ongoing conflict at University Hospital Regensburg with its service staff, potentially leading to a resolution, has sparked hopes among trade unions in Würzburg and Erlangan, where similar strikes are ongoing due to wage disparities.
2. The United Services Union (Verdi) is advocating for University Hospital Bavaria to follow the Regensburg agreement, belieading it could influence tariffs and wages for service staff in other hospitals.
3. The strikes at University Hospital Regensburg have been led by the service staff, including those in kitchens and cafeterias, cleaning and disinfection, reception, logistics, patient escort and transport services, due to their belief that they are underpaid compared to directly employed staff.
4. Despite the proposed wage adjustment in Regensburg to align wages with state tariff contracts by 2027, certain aspects, such as annual bonuses, remain unresolved according to the trade union Verdi.
5. Following the strikes, UKW Service GmbH in Würzburg stated they saw no need for wage negotiations, underlining that a valid tariff contract, the flat-rate tariff contract of the building cleaning craftsmen, is already in place.
6. The UKW Service GmbH KSG Erlangen, a subsidiary of University Hospitals, is also bound by a similar flat-rate tariff contract with the union IG BAU, and wage negotiations are regularly conducted as per the agreement terms.

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