annual press conference
Verdi wants to negotiate higher wages in social professions
A flag of the Verdi union. Photo: Axel Heimken/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The union wants to focus this year on better working conditions and higher pay for employees in social and educational professions.
The Verdi union wants to achieve better working conditions and higher pay for employees in social professions this year.
As the union explained at its annual press conference in Berlin, collective bargaining in social and educational services will resume on February 25 after a long break. They were put on hold in March 2020 due to the outbreak of the pandemic.
«During the pandemic, it became more than clear how indispensable and valuable the social and educational professions are for society. Nevertheless, the work that the employees do every day is given far too little recognition,” said Verdi Deputy Chairwoman Christine Behle. That should change now.
According to Behle, there are around 1.6 million employees in social work – 83 percent of whom are women. About 400,000 of them work in the public sector – and are therefore directly affected by the collective bargaining round. However, the negotiations also had an impact on the remaining employment relationships, she explained. Concrete demands include a better classification of employees and a legal right to qualification.
Financial empowerment for women
In day-care centers and after-school care centers, women in particular ensure that children can learn with each other regardless of their origin, explained Behle. Their work must be financially valued. At the same time, there is an urgent need for measures to counter the shortage of skilled workers, which has worsened since the outbreak of the pandemic, said Behle.
Overall, Verdi wants to achieve improvements for around four million employees in different industries this year. The largest negotiations will be in private banking (246,000), insurance companies (170,000), the printing industry (134,000) and Telekom Germany (62,000). According to its own statements, the union also wants to take into account the difficult conditions in sectors that have been hit hard by Corona – for example in aviation. However, there will be no “corona-related strike restraint”, it said.