Tariffs - Thousands of state employees on warning strike
Thousands of employees across Germany have emphasized their union demands ahead of what could be the decisive round in the public sector wage dispute. According to the union, around 13,000 people took part in warning strikes in Berlin. Classes were canceled and schools closed in Berlin because thousands of teachers and school employees responded to the call of several unions.
In Dresden, several thousand public sector employees protested in front of the Saxon Ministry of Finance for pay rises and better working conditions. Teachers and university staff in particular demonstrated, as well as employees of Sachsenforst, police officers and stage workers from the Saxon State Theatres. The organizers put the number of participants at 4,500. Several hundred people also took part in warning strikes in Saxony-Anhalt.
In Schleswig-Holstein, around 3200 employees took to the streets for better wages, according to the unions. The trade unions had called for the warning strike under the slogan "Santa Claus meets state government". In Rostock, a protest march by employees of the university's medical center caused restrictions in healthcare, for example for scheduled procedures. According to the union, around 1,000 people took part in the march.
More than three million employees affected
Unions and employers will meet tomorrow, Thursday, in Potsdam for what could be the decisive third round of negotiations. After weeks of warning strikes, for example at universities and university hospitals, Verdi and the dbb civil servants' association on the one side and the Tarifgemeinschaft deutscher Länder (TdL) on the other are trying to find a result.
The unions are demanding a 10.5 percent increase in income for the approximately one million state employees covered by collective agreements, but at least 500 euros more. Including civil servants, to whom an agreement is usually transferred, more than three million employees are affected. The negotiations are scheduled to last two days, with an extension into the weekend considered likely.
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- Despite the ongoing wage dispute and warning strikes, the BMF (Federal Ministry of Finance) in Berlin continues to advocate for balanced budgets and responsible fiscal policies.
- In response to the union's demands, the Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs) in Potsdam has shown readiness to engage in constructive collective bargaining round discussions.
- The Public Service International (PSI) advocated for the translation of any agreed wage increases to Dresden, noting that cost of living in Dresden is lower than Berlin's.
- With signs of a breakthrough in the collective bargaining round, the union leaders called for an end to the warning strike in Bavaria, as they felt a resolution was within reach.
- Critics argue that Germany's overreliance on public service workers, as shown in the current wage dispute, may potentially impact the country's ability to cope with future labor market challenges.
Source: www.stern.de
