The Verdi union called for warning strikes in the public service in Baden-Württemberg from Wednesday. Daycare centers, hospitals and local transport could be affected.
With the warning strikes, the Verdi union wants to increase the pressure on employers. In the collective bargaining at the weekend in Potsdam, there was no agreement with the employers. “Employers believe that a permanent position in the public service is already reward enough,” says Hanna Binder, Verdi regional district manager in Baden-Württemberg. “They cannot explain why tens of thousands of nursing professionals, day-care centers, and public transport, who we need even more urgently in the pandemic, cannot explain. No offer for three years is a real affront.”
It started in Friedrichshafen, then in Ulm and in the Ludwigsburg district
That is why there is a strike on Wednesday in Friedrichshafen (Lake Constance district). The union did not say exactly which areas will be affected by the strikes. On Thursday, parts of the public service in Ulm and in the Ludwigsburg region will be on strike, including daycare centers in Bietigheim-Bissingen in the Ludwigsburg district. Smaller protests in Freiburg and Emmendingen are planned for Tuesday. The union plans to continue the warning strikes until the next nationwide round of negotiations with employers at the end of October. Other daycare centers and hospitals as well as local public transport could then also be hit.
“The applause from the citizens in early summer was good for the employees. They are happy when it turns into solidarity in this collective bargaining conflict. Now, clapping must turn into tangible recognition.”
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Difficult collective bargaining in the public sector
In the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations, the trade unions are demanding 4.8 percent more wages and salaries for the approximately 2.3 million federal and local government employees. Low-wage earners should have at least 150 euros more money in their pockets every month. There should be 100 euros more per month for the trainees. Those affected by the negotiations are, for example, employees in municipal clinics and day-care centers or employees in local public transport and in garbage disposal. So far there is no offer from employers. The Verdi union had therefore announced warning strikes at the weekend, including protests this week in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia.
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