GEW once again has more than 2,500 participants warning strike in the schools
Thursday May 23, 2024, 6:57 am: Classes were canceled in some Berlin schools on Wednesday due to a warning strike by the Education and Science Union (GEW). According to the GEW, more than 2,500 teachers, social educators and school psychologists participated in a demonstration in Mitte, Berlin. In addition, numerous decentralized actions were carried out in the districts.
Since 2021, the GEW has been demanding a collective health protection agreement regulating class sizes and other staff supports. The union calls for, among other things, smaller school classes. In this way, healthier working conditions could be achieved for the more than 34,000 teachers and other school employees and, at the same time, a higher quality of teaching, the GEW maintains.
The Berlin Senate rejects such discussions and refers to the collective bargaining community of the federal states (TdL). Without their consent, Berlin cannot begin collective negotiations on class sizes. The GEW does not accept this argument and since 2021 has repeatedly organized warning strikes to achieve its goal. Smaller classes can also be implemented by changing the school law.
Warning strike at frozen food maker Frosta
Tuesday, May 21, 09:34 a.m.: The Food, Leisure and Restaurants union (NGG) called a warning strike on Tuesday morning in the framework of the collective dispute at the frozen food manufacturer Frosta in Bremerhaven. In the morning shift, employees must stop working between 6 and 8 am and emphasize their demands, the NGG said.
The union demands a 12 percent wage increase for the approximately 700 employees over a twelve-month period of the collective agreement, as well as permanent employment of apprentices in the trained profession and a travel allowance. The employers' side wants a longer collective agreement and is offering 2.6 percent for this year and 1.9 percent for next, as the union announced on Monday.
Last year an attempt was made to get as close as possible to 2022 inflation to avoid a loss of real wages, said NGG negotiator Iris Münkel: “It was not entirely successful, but we were on the right path. The fact that such a low offer is now being presented causes great disappointment among employees.” The company made good profits last year and paid million-dollar dividends.
The union criticized employers for acting as if the second year of high inflation and the associated growing financial worries among employees had not occurred. For this year we also have to compensate for 2023 inflation and add something to the collective agreement. The next hearing date is scheduled for May 27.
Frosta increased its sales and profits last year. Sales increased by 10.4 percent in 2023 to 639 million euros compared to the previous year. The surplus amounted to €34.1 million (2022: €24.3 million).
Numerous cancellations due to another bus drivers strike
14:59: Due to the resumption of strikes by bus drivers, numerous local transport connections in Hesse were canceled on Friday. According to information from the two transport associations NVV and RMV, bus routes were canceled in the districts of Kassel, Schwalm-Eder, Hanau, Gießen and Rüsselsheim, among others.
There were hardly any buses in Frankfurt either, but in Hesse's largest city customers could still transfer to the various trains relatively easily. In the large cities of Kassel, Darmstadt and Wiesbaden, however, bus traffic proceeded normally, because other collective agreements apply to the majority of drivers there.
According to Verdi strike leader Jochen Koppel, 98 percent of the workers of Hesse's private bus companies participated in the warning strikes. The union leader announced that the strike would be interrupted during Pentecost and then continue with the same intensity on Tuesday and Wednesday. There was a first warning strike on April 24. Negotiations will resume next Friday (May 24).
As part of collective bargaining, the union is demanding that the salaries of some 6,000 employees increase by 8.5 percent in two stages. There should also be an inflationary compensation of 3,000 euros for each employee and paid breaks. The businessmen rejected the demands as unaffordable and offered 9.3 percent more money in three stages.
IG BAU wants to extend warning strikes next week
Friday, May 17, 11:50 a.m.: The industrial union Bauen Agrar Umwelt (IG BAU) wants to extend its warning strikes in the construction sector next week. The labor dispute will extend to transport infrastructure, the union announced on Friday in Frankfurt after five days of strike. To achieve this, road, railway and bridge construction should be closed in certain parts of Germany.
Construction workers are highly motivated to fight for their wage increase, said IG BAU head Robert Feiger. “We will not give up until the construction companies present an offer higher than that of the arbitration award.” In the first week, some 12,500 employees participated in the strikes.
The background is the collective agreement in the construction sector, with 930,000 employees, which collapsed at the beginning of May. After three rounds of fruitless negotiations, arbitrator Rainer Schlegel proposed salary increases in two stages on April 19. Initially, income was to increase in May at a fixed rate of 250 euros and eleven months later by another 4.15 percent in the west and 4.95 percent in the east. While IG BAU accepted the compromise proposal, the employers' associations rejected it in early May. IG BAU is now on strike over its original demand for 500 euros more per month.
Bus drivers return to strike in Hesse
17:31: This Friday customers should expect cancellations on numerous bus routes in Hesse. The Verdi union has once again asked the drivers of private bus companies for a warning strike that will last all day and will also continue on Tuesday and Wednesday after Pentecost.
Almost all bus routes in Frankfurt, as well as connections in many medium-sized cities and rural areas, are affected. However, in the large cities of Kassel, Darmstadt and Wiesbaden you can expect normal bus traffic, as different collective agreements apply to drivers there.
As part of collective bargaining, the union demands that wages increase by 8.5 percent in two stages. There should also be an inflationary compensation of 3,000 euros for each employee and paid breaks. The businessmen rejected the demands as unaffordable and offered 9.3 percent more money in three stages.
Hundreds of Telekom employees are on strike in front of the Eurocup stadium in Stuttgart
Thursday, May 16, 12:41 pm: Hundreds of Telekom employees gathered for a warning strike in front of the MHP Arena in Stuttgart following a call from the Verdi union. State labor campaign leader Christian Filusch said Thursday that about 300 employees were on site for the late-morning rally. This is intended to maintain pressure on the ongoing collective bargaining.
In 2019, Telekom received all audiovisual rights for the tournament from the European football federation UEFA. All 51 matches of the European Championship will be broadcast on the Telekom MagentaTV streaming service, five of them exclusively. For everything to run smoothly, some of the technology still needs to be expanded before the June 14 start. “Telekom employees are very motivated to provide technical support to the football event,” said Filusch. “But first there has to be a proper collective agreement.”
The strike call was directed at all Telekom areas in the regions of Stuttgart, Leinfelden-Echterdingen and Göppingen, as reported. The consequences for customers have sometimes been longer waiting times at the service hotline or postponed appointments for new connections. According to available data, around 4,500 employees work at Telekom in Baden-Württemberg. There were also calls for warning strikes in the other nine cities hosting European Championship matches.
After the employer submitted an improved offer in the fourth round of collective bargaining on Tuesday afternoon, the round was extended to Friday. In this year's collective bargaining, Verdi demands, among other things, a 12 percent wage increase for the around 70,000 collective bargaining employees nationwide.
Collective bargaining in the hospitality industry: signs point to a storm
Tuesday, May 14, 16:51: In the Bavarian hotel sector there are already signs that a storm is brewing after the first round of collective bargaining. The NGG union broke off talks shortly after Monday, according to negotiator Mustafa Öz. We are now planning actions including a warning attack. According to Öz, this could also lead to the opening day of the European Football Championship in mid-June, if there are no new discussions until then.
The two sides blamed each other for Monday's demolition. Öz criticized the fact that Dehoga came to the table without an offer despite the long waiting time and only demanded a longer deadline. For his part, Dehoga stated that the NGG's demand for a 14.5 percent salary increase was rejected as non-negotiable, given the difficult circumstances with the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic and the end of the temporary VAT reduction.
Dehoga stressed that he would be willing to continue talks as soon as a negotiable demand emerged. Öz dismissed this as blackmail.
It was initially unclear how many employees were being negotiated for. In the hotel sector, with its numerous companies, sometimes very small, both the collective agreement by employers and the level of union organization are quite low.
You can read more information about warning attacks on the following pages.