New wave of warning strikes in Hamburg's public sector
The Verdi trade union has called for a four-day wave of warning strikes in the deadlocked wage dispute for public sector employees in the federal states - starting on Monday. Work stoppages are to take place in various districts one after the other until Thursday. "Employees from the district offices, schools, the fire department, the state education and advisory service and the state roads, bridges and waterways service as well as employees of Hamburg Service on site in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg have been called out," it said.
On each day of the strike, "the focus will be on one area of public services and technical infrastructure", the union announced. On Monday, there will be a strike by employees from the basic welfare and social services departments in Bergedorf. On Tuesday it will be the turn of the Mitte district, on Wednesday Hamburg Nord and on Thursday Wandsbek.
Verdi is 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 should receive 200 euros more and trainees should be offered permanent contracts. The union is also demanding a monthly city-state bonus of 300 euros. The Tarifgemeinschaft deutscher Länder (TdL) with its chief negotiator, Hamburg's Finance Senator Andreas Dressel (SPD), had made it clear in the second round of negotiations that it considered the demands to be far too high and unaffordable.
A breakthrough could be achieved in the third round of negotiations starting on December 7. The negotiations are about salaries for around 1.1 million employees. Around 1.4 million civil servants are also affected, to whom the result is usually transferred. In Hamburg, including trainees, around 46,000 employees and indirectly 42,000 civil servants are affected.
The ongoing wage dispute in federal states has led to Federal states being affected by trade unions organizing strikes, with Verdi demanding a significant income increase for public sector employees. This could potentially impact various public services and infrastructure, such as schools, fire departments, and public road maintenance, causing disruptions in public service.
The potential tariffs imposed on certain public service sectors due to these strikes could further strain the budgets of the federal states, potentially exacerbating the ongoing salary negotiations.
Source: www.dpa.com
