Trade unions: 3000 public sector employees on warning strike
According to the trade unions, around 3000 public sector employees in Berlin took part in a warning strike on Thursday. The trade unions Verdi and GEW had called on employees of daycare centers as well as social workers and educators in youth, health and social services. At a rally in front of the House of Representatives, they complained about poor working conditions due to staff shortages, but also demanded better pay.
"Daycare centers and schools can only be a good place to live and learn for our children if they are well equipped and have well-trained teachers on site," explained Doreen Siebernik from the GEW national executive committee. The reality is different: The exhaustion of many employees is "huge". The shortage of skilled workers is pushing many to their limits, so at least the salary has to be right.
Trade unions demand a clear increase in salary
The background to this is the wage dispute in the public sector of the federal states. In the collective bargaining negotiations for around 1.1 million salaried employees in the public sector of the federal states, which began at the end of October, Verdi and other trade unions are demanding a 10.5 percent salary increase, but at least 500 euros per month - for a period of twelve months. For trainees, the increase should be 200 euros. For Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen, the unions are also demanding a city-state bonus of 300 euros.
The Tarifgemeinschaft der Länder (TdL) has not yet presented an offer. Until the third round of negotiations in December, the unions want to increase pressure with warning strikes throughout Germany.
Handover of a "notice of threat" did not work
Representatives of the Verdi trade union wanted to hand over a so-called "collective endangerment notice" signed by many employees to Education Senator Katharina Günther-Wünsch (CDU) during the rally in the morning. However, the senator refused to speak to the employees and accept the paper as part of the strike rally, said Andrea Kühnemann, Verdi state leader for Berlin-Brandenburg.
The education administration contradicted this statement. Due to a commemoration of the 85th anniversary of the Nazi pogrom night against synagogues and Jewish people in parliament as well as "unforeseen scheduling conflicts", the date had been postponed by around two hours. Unfortunately, Verdi was unable to implement this at short notice. "It is in our interest to maintain the dialog and find a constructive solution," said a spokesperson for the education administration. "We would like to emphasize that we greatly appreciate the valuable work of educators in our daycare centers."
Trade unions in Kindergartens are also participating in the public sector wage dispute, with Verdi and GEW advocating for better pay and working conditions for teachers to ensure a nurturing environment for children. The union representatives had intended to deliver a "notice of threat" to Education Senator Katharina Günther-Wünsch during a rally, but their plans were disrupted due to scheduling conflicts.
Source: www.dpa.com
