Germany: Strikes in university clinics

In times of pandemic, workers at university clinics in Germany are on strike, demanding pay. Criticism from employers.

In recent days, a series of public strikes by the Ver.di public sector union have taken place in a number of university clinics in Germany. The union blames employers – that is, the federal state, states and municipalities – for refusing to submit a proposal of their own in the context of wage negotiations that began in October. Ver.di itself is asking for hospital staff to increase their salary by 300 euros per month.

For its part, the State sets as a condition for submitting its own proposal, for the union to first accept new salary scales. But Ver.di rejects the request because, he argues, these scales would have a negative impact on employees. The union also blames employers for not assessing staff supply during the coronavirus pandemic.

Tuesday is a crucial day

In order to increase the pressure on employers before the start of the third round of negotiations, which is scheduled for the end of the month, Ver.di has announced for the coming Third strike of its members in all 35 university clinics in Germany. The union stresses that strikes are not going to endanger the sick. Necessary surgeries will be performed and emergency care will be provided.

The decision of the union for a work stoppage is criticized by the Association of University Clinics. What is needed at this time is not strikes, but the implementation of structural changes in clinics and the introduction of a gradual improvement in staff training, says the president of the association, Jens Solts, in the newspaper Die Welt.

Panagiotis Kouparanis, Berlin

Source: Deutsche Welle