Ver.di has announced strikes in numerous areas for Lower Franconia. However, other areas are expressly spared. What must be expected where.
The Ver.di union is dissatisfied with the ongoing collective bargaining for the public sector. For this reason there are again strikes in the region. As Ver.di district manager Gerald Burkard reveals in an interview with this editorial team, the waterways and shipping administration (WSV) in all of Lower Franconia and the Sparkasse Mainfranken will be affected in the coming days, in addition to the Schweinfurt municipal utilities.
Schweinfurt bus drivers strike on Friday
What began with the Würzburg buses and city cleaners has evidently expanded its focus to the Schweinfurt region. Early on Thursday morning, employees of the Leopoldina Hospital and the WSV stopped their work to strike for better conditions. In Würzburg there was a Ver.di demonstration on the market square.
For this Friday, the employees of the public transport company of the Schweinfurt public utility were also called to a warning strike from 4 a.m. to 12 p.m. According to their website, Stadtwerke Schweinfurt is expecting “massive restrictions in the entire line network, which can also affect school traffic”. At least all departures from “Roßmarkt” should not take place again as planned until 12.30 p.m.
Other Lower Franconian cities are not affected
Other Lower Franconian cities such as Würzburg and Aschaffenburg are expressly excluded from the bus drivers’ strike this time. “We want to show our passengers that we don’t want to meet them, but the employer,” said Mario Manke, member of the tariff commission for Würzburg, in a Ver.di press release. However, there will be another strike here, too, if employers do not signal their willingness to negotiate in the next two days.
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Strikes by employees of the water and shipping administration must also be expected elsewhere in Lower Franconia, for example at the locks. According to Ver.di man Burkard, the WSV areas on strike “migrate” down the Main from Schweinfurt. On Thursday they went on strike as far as Volkach (district of Kitzingen). On Friday it goes on via Marktbreit (district Kitzingen) and the Würzburger Bauhof to Gemünden (district Main-Spessart).
Ver.di youth strike Sparkasse Main-Franken
According to Ver.di district manager Burkard, Sparkasse Mainfranken will also have to prepare for work stoppages in the coming week. The reason for this is that the savings banks are also part of the current collective bargaining. Employees would now respond to a call from the Bavarian Ver.di youth and stop work on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 13 and 14.
The reasons for the recurring strikes by Ver.di are wages that are perceived as unfair and the working conditions. Despite Corona, they gave everything in public transport, according to a current press release from Ver.di-Schweinfurt. The employers, however, are not willing to negotiate.
Ver.di calls for a wage increase of 4.8 percent, at least 150 euros and an increase in trainee remuneration by 100 euros for all 2.3 million federal and municipal employees. Employees also expect additional days off. A nationwide framework collective agreement is also required for public transport employees.
Fronts in negotiations are hardened
The front lines in the negotiations currently seem hardened. “Sentences like not being terminated are appreciation enough, they don’t make me optimistic in the negotiations,” says the Schweinfurt Ver.di woman Marietta Eder annoyed.
The employers, however, criticized the strikes. Stephan Rabl, managing director of the regional association of Bavarian bus companies, says he has no understanding for the bus drivers’ “excessive wage demands”. The situation of the bus companies is financially tense due to Corona. There is currently simply no money for Ver.di’s claims.
The inland waterwaymen are not happy about the actions on the Main either: “The Ver.di trade union misses any sense of proportion when it calls on employees to strike structures relevant for inland navigation,” said Martin Staats, President of the Federal Association of German Inland Shipping.
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Würzburg
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Schweinfurt
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Aaron Niemeyer
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employer
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Indoor schiffer
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Inland shipping
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Unions
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Employees and staff
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Passengers and passengers
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Stadtwerke Schweinfurt
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Strikes
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Cities
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Collective bargaining
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Lower Franconia
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