Hundreds of parents of daycare children had to find alternative care on Wednesday due to warning strikes by the Verdi union. According to the union, all daycare centers in Mannheim remained closed, and two-thirds in Stuttgart. In Heilbronn, Freiburg and Ulm, educators were also called upon to rest their work. On International Women’s Day, Verdi focused on the work of women in the public sector. Women are mainly employed in social and educational services, in administration and in clinics.
With the work stoppages, Verdi wants to emphasize the demand to increase the income of the approximately 2.5 million employees in the federal and local public services by 10.5 percent, but at least by 500 euros a month. The term of the envisaged agreement is to be twelve months. According to figures from the State Statistical Office, 236,000 salaried employees work for the municipalities in Baden-Württemberg. About 67 percent of the employees are women, the part-time rate is around 44 percent, Verdi said.
The employer offer rejected by Verdi includes, among other things, a pay increase of five percent in two steps and one-off payments totaling 2,500 euros.
In Stuttgart, more than 4,000 strikers from the state capital and the surrounding districts, as well as women from all sectors and areas of society, are expected to attend a rally with Verdi negotiator Christine Behle and a demonstration in the afternoon. In Stuttgart, bathrooms and controls in buses and trams are also affected.
The Association of Municipal Employers’ Associations (VKA) says it has no understanding of the actions, especially since the negotiations are still on schedule and will continue at the end of March. Karin Welge, chief negotiator and VKA President, said the strike calls were used by the union to mobilize and recruit members. For the second time in just a few months, Verdi is carrying out wage policy at the expense of parents and young families.
Verdi Deputy Head of State Hanna Binder emphasized: “This collective bargaining round is also the collective bargaining round for women.” They did the lion’s share of paid and unpaid work for family and dependents. Since women generally earned less than men, they reduced their working hours in order to reconcile work and family life. Binder summed it up: “You work twice and earn half.”
