Status: 02/14/2023 10:32 a.m
Before the next round of negotiations in the public service wage dispute, ver.di boss Werneke made it clear: the warning strikes could also be expanded. Whether this will happen depends on what employers offer in the coming week.
In the collective bargaining for the public sector, ver.di boss Frank Werneke emphasized his union’s willingness to go on strike and called for a “fair offer” from the employer. “If not, we are of course able to mobilize in the public service as well as at the post office and at the airports. There is very, very much encouragement for our demand,” said Werneke in the ARD morning magazine. Whether there will be widespread strikes depends very much on the second round of negotiations.
In the morning, employees of the transport company had stopped working during new warning strikes in North Rhine-Westphalia. In Essen and Cologne, for example, buses and trains have been standing still since 3 a.m.
Frank Werneke, ver.di, on the reasons for the public sector warning strike
Morning magazine, February 14, 2023
New negotiations in the coming week
Ver.di and the civil servants’ association are demanding 10.5 percent more wages for the approximately 2.5 million employees in federal and local government, but at least 500 euros more. The employers reject this, it is not economically viable. According to ver.di’s ideas, the collective bargaining agreement should also apply to civil servants, soldiers and judges.
The first round of negotiations ended without result in January, which is why there are now warning strikes. The second round is planned for the middle of next week.
In addition to NRW, warning strikes and actions have also been announced in other federal states from north to south this week, including Schleswig-Holstein, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.