Unionists on strike at universities: “There are many of us”

Warning strike at universities! The Hessian university union Unterbau is fighting for a collective agreement for attending students.

TVStud student movement protest in Hesse in November 2023 Photo: Hen-Foto/imago

taz: Mr. Rauch, there are strikes everywhere, not only in the German train drivers' union (GDL), but also in the public sector in Hesse. Their union Unterbau supports, among other things, the student assistants at Goethe University Frankfurt. On Tuesday you called a warning strike together with Verdi and GEW. Because? The traffic light government has just agreed to a reform of the Science Time Act (WissZeitVG). Doesn't that improve working conditions in universities?

Benjamin Rauch: No. This draft is of no use. The WissZeitVG is and remains one of the most anti-union laws in Germany; It is an expression of neoliberal hostility towards democracy. The amendment further undermines the collective bargaining autonomy of universities in the interests of employers. The novelty for the attending students is that they can even work temporarily for 8 years instead of just 6. So the traffic light gives us two more years of work in miserable conditions, thank you very much! The only sensible thing is that an employment contract should have a minimum duration of 12 months.

Verdi already agreed on it in December with the employers, that is, with the collective bargaining community of the federated states.

Exactly, and that thanks to the student movement TVStud, which fights throughout the country for a collective agreement for assistants and of which we are also members at Unterbau. Sure, longer contract terms are a small step forward. It makes it easier to organize support workers and fight strikes if they don't leave after four and a half months. But we don't consider the way Verdi is selling the rulebook to be a great success.

So far this does not apply in Hesse. Tell us why.

Hesse enjoys collective bargaining autonomy. This means that negotiations always take place separately, while the other 15 federal states negotiate together with the employers' association, the collective bargaining community of the federal states. In December there was already an agreement there. The Hessian collective agreement for the public sector did not expire until January, our negotiations began in February, last week there was the first warning strike and now the second.

Do you hope that Hesse can achieve a collective agreement for unskilled workers? In the other states, TVStud and Verdi failed.

Yes, we hope so and we will strike as long as necessary. We are many and we are determined. One advantage of the autonomy of collective bargaining is that we could make Hesse a beacon for good scientific work. Until now, the focus has often been on other countries. Unfortunately, the graduation there was very disappointing for the student employees. But that is often the case with DGB unions: they give in too quickly, give in, sign something that is far below their own demands and then sell it as a success, even if that means real wage losses. I find it presumptuous and very problematic. The goal was clear: a collective agreement and higher wages for unskilled workers. That was not achieved. Instead, there are now 13.25 euros per hour, a few cents more than the minimum wage, recorded in a questionable contractual agreement.

Now the businessmen have also proposed the same for Hesse. What is that supposed to be?

Well, that's a very creative construction that employers use to get around a collective bargaining agreement. It is legally binding, but only unions can sue, not individual employees. Employers probably don't know exactly what that means. However, they have already made greater concessions to us than in other countries and we consider it a success.

What is your union demanding in the current round of collective bargaining?

Not only do we take the collective agreement seriously, we also demand much more essential things than Verdi and GEW: childcare places for employed students, a budget for greater accessibility in workplaces and supports for assistants with disabilities, 12 weeks continuous work payment of salary in case of illness. Currently there is a legal vacuum. Regarding salaries, we demand at least between 18 and 20 euros per hour, the other unions only demand 16.50.

Frankfurt has a lighthouse character. It was your little union in February. At the Goethe University of Hesse there was a representation of auxiliary staff for the first time.

The councils are included in the Hessian Personnel Representation Act, but we have seen little initiative from the management of Goethe University to implement it. So we wrote our own electoral regulations and proposed it in the Senate. More than 30 percent cast their vote in the election, which was the highest turnout in more than 15 years. This is great, also for democracy! As a result, the substructure list won 5 seats and the DGB 2 seats.

Does this tiger have teeth? What is the point of such auxiliary advice?

There are complaints that the Council will definitely help us with. Employers often do not respect basic rights: vacations are not taken, sick days are not made up, overtime is not paid, or superiors demand incredible flexibility. It is through the Council that we can officially contact our colleagues and inform them of their rights. In addition to these basic concepts of employee rights, we also see the Council as a strategic instrument. The city council can include on the agenda the demands that we want to impose (childcare, vacation rights, Christmas bonuses or support for attendees with disabilities) and make them known to the university public. The Council is also making a difference in our fight for a collective bargaining agreement!

You criticized Verdi and GEW. What advantages do you see in organizing in a smaller union like Unterbau?

Because the substructure, as a local grassroots union, is much closer to the interests of local colleagues and students. Here we can act much more independently than would be possible at Verdi, where I am also a member but not active. What bothers me is that full-time employees largely set the direction and then local volunteers are expected to implement it. This is the opposite of what a union is supposed to be. In reality, all decisions should be made by those affected by them in their workplaces.

Speaking of other unions: What do you really think of the GDL? Due to the strike, almost no trains were running on Tuesday, so many Hessian employees were unable to travel to attend their warning strike in Frankfurt. Isn't that ironic?

Despite the GDL strike, at least 2,500 colleagues from different cities in Hesse went to Frankfurt on Tuesday for a warning strike. Of course we could have been more, but at Unterbau we are 100 percent in solidarity with the GDL! Faced with an employer like Deutsche Bahn, who does not care at all about his employees, the only option is hard strikes. Many university employees can identify with the demand for a reduction in working hours, especially in administration and mid-level staff, where there is a strong tendency towards work intensification and overload. My impression is that many people greet the strikes with more understanding than some media reports suggest.