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At the rally in front of the town hall, the employees of the two Soodener Wicker clinics vented their frustration at still receiving far less money for their work than colleagues at other clinics. © Stefan Forbert
Second day of strike with rally on the market square
Bad Sooden-Allendorf – While the weekly market was taking place on Allendorf’s market square on Thursday morning, a shrill whistle concert coming directly from the square in front of the town hall – accompanied by drumming and blowing – filled the old town. Then the 120 employees of the Hoher Meißner Clinic and the Sonnenberg Clinic, both of which are part of the Wicker Group (Bad Wildungen), chanted: “Today is not a working day, today is a strike day!” and “We want a collective agreement!”
For the second time in three weeks, the employees went on strike to emphasize their demands. As has already been signed as a petition by more than half of all Wicker employees in Sooden, it is about 2,000 euros in inflation compensation and an immediate 500 euros more salary – a “fair offer,” as Sonnenbergklinik works council boss Frank Peschke said. And about “finally a collective agreement” that guarantees all employees “market-based” and therefore significantly higher wages. This must be negotiated between the Wicker management and Verdi as the responsible union.
But after the first negotiations were broken off in 2022, management refused to start new talks and instead tried to conclude works agreements through the local works councils, “in which they alone can dictate whether, when and by how much our salaries will increase,” say the works council chairmen of both Soodener clinics , Ute Harries and Frank Peschke.
For many years we have “not been paid well for our competent, committed and good work,” complained Ute Harries at the half-hour rally. She and her colleague Peschke repeatedly repeated the demand for management to return to the negotiating table.
The speakers also made it clear that negotiations with the union are obviously feasible by referring to a collective agreement signed by the Wicker bosses. This was closed more than ten years ago for the doctors with their Marburger Bund union. The result: Their salaries will rise by a total of 8.8 percent from May 1st compared to 2022.
And since the management could easily demand the higher personnel expenses from the rehabilitation payers, it would even be “a zero-sum game” for Wicker, said department secretary Arne Gailing from the Verdi regional district of Hesse, expressing his incomprehension about the corporate group’s refusal policy. He also hinted that fair and equitable remuneration for employees also has to do with appreciation.
Incidentally, the clinic employees, some of whom say they receive an hourly wage of 12.48 euros, want to remain stubborn. “We will fight and take to the streets again,” Peschke announced, agreeing with his colleagues on the works council at the other Wicker locations who had organized various strike actions everywhere on Thursday.
The demonstration, accompanied by the police at the front and back, then set off again in the direction of Sooden – with whistles, blows and drums and the cry “Today is not a working day, today is a strike day!”
2024-02-16 00:04:54
#Wicker #employees #Bad #SoodenAllendorf #money
