Frankfurt. In view of the stalled negotiations on better working conditions and more money, the Marburger Bund doctors’ union has called for a warning strike in Hesse next Monday. According to the union, around fifty municipal hospitals in Hesse have been called to strike – nationwide, there are 60,000 doctors. This was preceded by two rounds of negotiations with the municipal employers’ associations (VKA), which the union believes were unsuccessful. “We are only encountering blockades and obstacles,” said Christian Schwark, regional association chairman of the Marburger Bund Hessen. The municipal hospitals were wasting valuable time in the collective bargaining negotiations – “intentionally, without any noticeable progress being made in the negotiations.” Schwark explained: “We are encountering a delaying tactic that lacks any form of appreciation.”
In the collective bargaining negotiations, the Marburger Bund is demanding a linear increase in salaries of 8.5 percent over a year. There should also be a reform of shift and rotating shift work. The central rally of the nationwide warning strike is scheduled to take place on Monday at the Römerberg in Frankfurt am Main (1 p.m.). Negotiations between the union and VKA are scheduled to continue on 17 and 18 September in Berlin.
The employers consider the union’s demands to be far too excessive. “It is difficult for us to understand why the doctors’ union is calling for warning strikes in this precarious situation for us hospitals,” said VKA negotiator Dirk Köcher. The doctors only received a four percent increase in their salaries in April 2024. Many municipal hospitals are in a financially precarious situation.
The Marburger Bund Hessen says it has offered the hospitals affected by the strike emergency service agreements to ensure emergency care for patients. The minimum medical staffing required for this corresponds to the staffing levels that are usually scheduled for weekends. (dpa)
