Strikes - Thousands of Free State employees demonstrate
Several thousand public sector employees in Bavaria have demonstrated in Munich for better pay. According to the trade union Verdi and the police union GdP, around 12,000 people took part in the warning strike on Tuesday - including employees from university hospitals, universities, state theaters, tax offices and the police.
Minister President Markus Söder (CSU) has so far ducked the issue, although the chief negotiator on the employers' side has stated that state employees should apply for housing benefit if their income is not enough to live on, said Heinrich Birner, Verdi's managing director for Munich and the region, according to a statement. The Bavarian Minister President must now explain whether he also wants to humiliate his employees in this way.
Verdi also announced"strikes without ifs and buts" if no agreement is reached in the upcoming third round of negotiations for the public service of the federal states.
In the wage dispute for around 1.1 million state employees nationwide, Verdi is demanding a 10.5 percent pay rise, but at least 500 euros more per month. The third round of negotiations begins this Thursday (December 7) in Potsdam. The Tarifgemeinschaft der Länder (TdL), chaired by Hamburg's Finance Senator Andreas Dressel (SPD), considers the demands to be far too high and unaffordable.
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The striking employees are demanding a significant pay increase of at least 500 euros per month, as stated by Verdi. Markus Söder, the Minister President of Bavaria and a member of the CSU, has yet to address the issue publicly. The United Services Union, Verdi's regional managing director for Munich, has issued a warning of further strikes if no agreement is reached. The tariffs under dispute could significantly impact over a million public sector employees across Germany. The strikes in Munich have attracted thousands of participants, including police officers, and have resulted in disruptions to public services in Bavaria. The Tarifgemeinschaft der Länder (TdL), led by Hamburg's Finance Senator Andreas Dressel, has expressed concerns about the affordability of Verdi's demands. The looming threat of strikes has raised concerns of potential tariff-related disruptions in various provincial services across Germany.
Source: www.stern.de
