In the collective bargaining dispute in the public sector, there are work stoppages across the country this week. The Verdi trade union has called for warning strikes in the healthcare sector at federal and local level to emphasize their demands.
Clinic employees in several federal states stopped working on Tuesday. In Hesse, according to Verdi, the warning strikes began in several hospitals with the start of the early shift. The employees followed a nationwide strike call for workers in hospitals, psychiatric clinics, care facilities and the emergency services for Tuesday and Wednesday.
In Berlin, Brandenburg and Hamburg, the employees of several hospitals also went on warning strikes in the morning, and warning strikes are planned in the federal capital, including at the Charité University Hospital. The trade union also intensified the industrial action in more than 30 municipal hospitals and district clinics as well as facilities for the elderly in Bavaria. In the Nuremberg Clinic, for example, planned operations should be postponed.
In Hanover, the warning strikes on Tuesday affected local public transport. Many buses and trains remain in the depot in the morning, as a Verdi spokesman said. Local trains such as S-Bahn, on the other hand, should not be on strike. In addition, all employees of the federal and municipal public services in Hanover were called on to go on warning strikes, including administration and daycare centers.
Verdi wants to push through 10.5 percent more wages for the 2.5 million federal and local employees nationwide, but at least 500 euros more a month. Employers are gradually offering five percent more for a two-year term and a one-off payment of 2,500 euros. The third round of negotiations will take place at the end of March. With the current actions, the union is protesting against the employer’s offer.
Numerous employees at several German airports had already stopped work on Monday after Verdi called for warning strikes there as well. In some cases, air traffic came to a standstill, affecting tens of thousands of travelers.
You can see in the photo gallery: The prices are rising – also in the supermarkets. You can still save if you buy groceries in bulk on sale. Then what do you do with it? The “New York Times” gives inflation-friendly tips on how to process the products and store them well.
