Public service workers in Rhineland-Palatinate have confirmed their demand for higher salaries and better working conditions with a full-day warning strike and a rally in Mainz.
Susanne Wingertszahn, the new district chairman of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) Rhineland-Palatinate / Saarland, accused the collective bargaining association of German states (TdL) with a blockade. “Recognition must also be felt in the wallet,” she said on Tuesday in front of union members on the banks of the Rhine. The public service should not be ruined at the expense of the employees.
In view of the increasing number of corona infections, the DGB and several individual unions had waived an originally planned star march through Mainz. Instead there was a rally on the banks of the Rhine and a “stay-at-home strike”.
Ver.di demands five percent more salary for employees
The third round of negotiations between ver.di and other employee representatives and the collective bargaining association of German states (TdL) is scheduled for the coming weekend in Potsdam. In addition to better working conditions, the unions are demanding five percent more salaries for employees, but at least 150 euros per month. In addition, trainees and interns are to receive 100 euros more per month.
Criticism of “employers’ arrogance”
The TdL has so far rejected the demands as unrealistic and has not yet submitted an offer. ver.di regional district manager Michael Blug criticized the fact that the employers “did not respond a bit to the demands of the employees” in the first two rounds of negotiations. “The fact that there is no offer from the employer after the second round cannot be surpassed in arrogance.” This applies above all to the health system.
Wingertszahn said: “Not only during the pandemic did the public service workers impressively demonstrate what they can do around the clock. The employers’ blockade is therefore completely unacceptable to us.”
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