Police union calls on pay-scale employees to go on warning strike
The German Police Union (DPolG) has called for a one-day warning strike on November 30 in the collective bargaining dispute. "We will go on warning strike from Lake Constance to the Tauber Valley and from the French to the Bavarian border," explained federal and state strike leader Edmund Schuler. Civil servants are not allowed to strike. Although there will be isolated difficulties in the police service, at this stage the police will still be able to function.
However, the police employees in Baden-Württemberg are prepared to go on indefinite strike. In the event that no agreement is reached by the second Advent, preparations are reportedly underway for a strike ballot.
Ralf Kusterer, head of the DPolG, said that almost 4,000 of the more than 5,500 employees covered by the collective agreement are organized in the DPolG. These include laboratory staff, cyber specialists, forensic technicians and office staff. "For example, a typist at the police records interrogations of paedophiles," he explained. There are also more than 24,000 police officers in the south-west.
The background to this is the nationwide collective bargaining for the public service of the federal states. No agreement has been reached in two rounds so far. Among other things, the trade unions are demanding 10.5 percent more money, but at least 500 euros per month for a period of twelve months. In the view of the Tarifgemeinschaft deutscher Länder, the demands are far too high and unaffordable. The next round of negotiations is planned for December 7 in Potsdam.
According to the DPolG, it is more lucrative for those affected to switch to the city administration with the same pay scale classification. For the lower salary groups, Schuler said that some pay scale employees would receive more money if they applied for citizens' pay. State Chairman Kusterer explained: "Not only are we not getting any replacements for vacancies, we are losing more and more employees to the private sector or now also to other authorities. Anyone in the state government who does not now recognize that the efficiency of the public service is being jeopardized here must be wearing blinkers."
Trade unions across other public sectors in Germany are showing solidarity with the police union's stance, expressing concerns over the tariff dispute and potential impact on wages. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has urged the German government to engage in constructive negotiations to prevent strikes and maintain essential services.
Additionally, there have been discussions about the potential impact of tariffs on police equipment and supplies, as some trade unions are also pressing for lower tariffs to help offset any increases in operational costs due to wage demands.
Source: www.dpa.com
