Collective bargaining round - Wage dispute in the public sector: more money demanded
In a major demonstration in Düsseldorf, around 15,000 employees demanded significantly more money in the wage dispute for the public sector of the federal states. The national chairman of the Verdi trade union, Frank Werneke, emphasized in front of the Düsseldorf state parliament on Tuesday: "We are campaigning for the real wage loss to be compensated." Addressing the black-green government led by Hendrik Wüst (CDU), he called out: "We expect the state government to exert influence so that we have a positive negotiation result in the third round. Otherwise we will be back!"
The chairman of the dbb civil servants' association, Ulrich Silberbach, said: "There has never been as much money in the tax pots as there is now. It just needs to be distributed fairly." Verdi and dbb are demanding a 10.5 percent wage increase, but at least 500 euros more. The employers of the Tarifgemeinschaft deutscher Länder (TdL) reject this as unaffordable. The third and possibly decisive round of collective bargaining starts this Thursday in Potsdam.
In addition to Verdi and dbb, the education unions VBE and GEW, police unions and tax unions also organized two parallel rallies in the morning. According to spokespeople, thousands of people gathered there. At midday, demonstrators marched through the city center to the state parliament, where, according to police and Verdi, around 15,000 people gathered. Placards held by demonstration participants read "I want to live, not survive" or "Warm words don't heat" and "More pay for us is worthwhile for everyone".
GEW and the NRW police union (GdP NRW) warned: "Hendrik Wüst's government is risking the future viability of the state administration." Competitive wages and salaries had no longer been paid for some time, and as a result, the shortage of skilled workers and work pressure were intensifying. "The attractiveness of the public sector must be significantly increased," they warned in a press release.
When asked by dpa, a dbb spokesperson emphasized: "The frustration runs deep." Teachers, tax administration employees and even police officers are on the streets. Civil servants - who are not allowed to strike - had also taken time off for their protest. According to the unions, state employees from university hospitals, universities, the judiciary and the state administration went on warning strike across the state.
According to dbb-Landesbund, there are around 26,000 vacancies in the state's public sector in NRW, with a collapse looming in the medium term. The GEW emphasized that there is a shortage of almost 7,000 teachers in NRW. The VBE state association emphasized that all school staff had demonstrated flexibility, resilience and professional competence under extraordinary pressure in recent years. "Now it is up to the employers to reward this performance appropriately." The GdP regional association accused the employers of "deeply disrespectful" treatment.
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Source: www.stern.de
