“There’s real pressure on the boiler now,” said the union boss, referring to the mood in the public sector. He called on federal and local employers to submit an offer during the round of negotiations on Wednesday – “and not just any offer, but a good one.” There must be “a perspective for a degree”.
It is important for the unions that there is a pronounced social component for the lower wage groups, said the Verdi boss. “The high inflation affects these workers even more, they have to spend a large part of their monthly budget on food and energy.”
The second round of negotiations in the wage conflict begins on Wednesday in Potsdam. This was preceded by nationwide warning strikes called by the Verdi services union and the civil servants’ association. The unions are demanding a 10.5 percent increase in salary for the 2.4 million federal and local employees, but at least €500 more per month. The Association of Municipal Employers’ Associations (VKA) rejected the demand as “unacceptable”; it has not yet submitted its own offer.
