Self-owned businesses - Trade union calls for strike in Kindergartens again
Different from expected, there will be strikes again in the Berlin daycare center owner-operated businesses this week. The union Verdi has called on employees to go on strike on Wednesday and Thursday. Spokesperson Kalle Kunkel emphasized, however, that it should not lead to the closure of daycare centers.
The call, which Verdi sent out suddenly and which the German Press Agency has access to, is addressed to all tariff employees of the owner-operated businesses. Previously, the "Berliner Morgenpost" had reported on this. The call was not "widely disseminated," explained Verdi spokesperson Kunkel. "We have it in our hands that it won't lead to closures." The union is confident that only a reduced number of employees will strike. Concrete numbers Kunkel would not mention.
State Secretary reacts angrily to renewed strike call
The union had previously announced that it would not call for a warning strike again this week. Now, according to spokesperson Kunkel, this statement was related to closures.
The State Secretary for Youth and Family, Falko Liecke, reacted angrily to the renewed strike call: Verdi continues to carry the questionable demands on the backs of children and parents and puts them again before significant challenges in Berlin. "These strikes must end. They are worsening the mood in our city and preventing constructive solutions for better daycare quality," Liecke told the dpa.
Union wants to increase pressure
The union wants to continue increasing the pressure on the government for higher pedagogical quality and reliefs. Verdi demands a corresponding collective bargaining agreement, in which regulations on group sizes and compensation for burdens are to be anchored. The Senate rejects this with reference to Berlin's membership in the collective bargaining community of German states. Verdi accuses the Senate of blocking a constructive solution in the interest of employees, parents, and Children.
Approximately ten percent of the around 2,900 kindergartens in Berlin belong to so-called municipal owner-operated businesses. There, around 7,000 daycare workers and other employees care for approximately 35,000 children. The remaining institutions are run by free providers and are not currently on strike. In total, about 165,000 children attend kindergartens in the capital.
- The strike action called by Verdi in Berlin's daycare center owner-operated businesses involves Children who are under the care of around 7,000 employees.
- Falko Liecke, the State Secretary for Youth and Family in Berlin, criticized the renewed strike call by Verdi, stating that it negatively impacts the mood in the city and hinders constructive solutions for better daycare quality.
- The United Services Trade Union, also known as Verdi, is pushing for higher pedagogical quality and reliefs in Berlin's kindergartens by demanding a collective bargaining agreement with regulations on group sizes and compensation for burdens.
- The German Press Agency reported on the sudden strike call by Verdi, which was not widely disseminated by the union but was still addressed to all tariff employees of the owner-operated businesses in Berlin, as stated by Verdi spokesperson Kalle Kunkel.
