The Association of Medical Professionals and employers have reached an agreement in the collective bargaining dispute. The result is expected to be announced in mid-February. The vmf had previously called for warning strikes for the first time in its history.
The one-day warning strike by the practice staff ended with success: the collective bargaining partners reached an agreement in their negotiations. This was announced by the Association of Medical Professionals (vmf), which had called for the strike.
However, the content of the agreement has not yet been published. The collective bargaining partners had agreed “not to announce the result until after the declaration period ended on February 16th,” it said.
2,000 medical Specialists strike
The vmf had called on around 330,000 medical specialists from outpatient care to go on a nationwide warning strike. There were rallies in several places in Germany, including Hamburg, Dortmund and Stuttgart. The main rally took place in Berlin.
According to the dpa news agency, at least 2,000 followed the call, a relatively small proportion. However, few employees are unionized, and employees in small businesses such as doctors’ offices can find it difficult to enforce their right to strike.
“No train drivers”
After train drivers, airport staff and public transport workers, medical assistants in practices also went on strike and demanded more money.
vmf president and negotiator Hannelore König was satisfied with the response to the warning strike: MFA (medical assistants) are “not train drivers,” she explained. The problem is much more complicated and lies to an important extent in the system of financing the healthcare system.
In this sense, the goal was achieved that the MFA’s salary and work situation was discussed in public. “This pressure does not seem to have had an impact on our negotiations,” said König.
Association demands 14.6 percent more money
Collective bargaining with the working group to regulate the working conditions of medical assistants (AAA) has been ongoing since October. “We couldn’t be satisfied with AAA’s previous offer,” said König. “This means that colleagues with 17 years of professional experience and recognized advanced training would only have received a 0.1 percent increase.”
The last collective agreement between the vmf and the practicing doctors expired at the end of 2023. At the start of collective bargaining in the fall, the vmf presented the AAA with a package of demands. On average, they want 14.6 percent more salary across all professional year and activity groups.
Employers reject claims
The employer side rejected these demands. The AAA had offered a total package of 5.5 percent increase, which would mainly go to the lower salary groups. In conversation with NDR info Erik Bodendieck, as negotiator for the medical profession, referred to the limited financial scope for action: “As practicing doctors, we are bound by regulations and cannot increase fees. That is different than in the independent industry.”