GEW calls on teachers to go on warning strike on Wednesday
The Education and Science Union (GEW) is calling on teachers in Saxony-Anhalt to go on warning strike in the public sector wage dispute. The kick-off is planned for Wednesday in Burg, as the GEW announced on Monday. All state employees in the Jerichower Land district are being called to strike from 11.00 am. A meeting is planned for 12.30 p.m. in the Burg town hall.
The trade unions are demanding a 10.5 percent increase in income for public sector employees in the federal states, but at least 500 euros more per month. Junior staff are to receive 200 euros more and trainees are to be taken on indefinitely. The Tarifgemeinschaft deutscher Länder (TdL) with its chief negotiator, Hamburg's Senator for Finance Andreas Dressel (SPD), made it clear in the second round of negotiations last Friday that it considers the demands to be far too high and unaffordable.
The GEW argues that inflation is not yet over and that employees have a lot of catching up to do in terms of pay from the past two years. "Teachers and educational staff are at their limit due to the shortage of skilled workers. To make these professions more attractive to young people again, working conditions must improve and salaries must rise significantly," said GEW state director Eva Gerth.
The ongoing public sector wage dispute has led many federal states to consider implementing tariffs on certain goods, as trade unions, including the GEW, persistently demand a substantial wage increase. Despite the Tarifgemeinschaft deutscher Länder considering their demands to be unattainable, federal states' public service workers, such as teachers, continue to threaten strikes, like the one announced by GEW in Saxony-Anhalt.
Source: www.dpa.com
