Status: 03/22/2023 5:43 p.m
In Lower Saxony, Bremen and Bavaria, thousands of public sector employees have stopped working. Garbage disposal, day-care centers and administrations were affected. In Hamburg, the port is closed to large ships.
Garbage cans remained full, buses and trains did not run, and in many places parents needed alternative childcare: With further warning strikes in the public sector, the trade union ver.di has again caused restrictions in everyday life in several federal states. The focal points of the walkout were Lower Saxony, Bremen and Bavaria. Employees in large parts of the public service, such as garbage disposal, daycare centers, administrations and job centers, were called upon to take part.
In Hanover and Bremen, thousands of employees came together for rallies. According to a ver.di spokesman, 15,000 people gathered on the Opernplatz in the Lower Saxony state capital, according to the police there were 9,500. According to the officials, 6,500 strikers came together in Bremen. The workers have clearly shown that they are willing to take to the streets for more money and better working conditions, the union said.
In Bavaria, especially Franconia and Lower Bavaria were affected by the strikes. According to ver.di, 8,500 people came to the central rally for Central Franconia on the Kornmarkt in Nuremberg alone. The police spoke of 8000 participants. It was “great”, said a ver.di spokesman in the afternoon. Local transport was also partially affected in Bavaria, for example in Passau and Bayreuth.
Strikes planned in other federal states
Further strikes have also been announced for Thursday in several federal states – this time also in Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt and Hamburg. Employees from daycare centers and hospitals to city cleaning services are called again. In some countries, work is also to be stopped on Friday.
In Hamburg, even the port is affected by strikes: shipping traffic there is already massively disrupted. The port administration Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) announced that since the morning, ships subject to pilotage have been unable to enter or leave Germany’s largest port. The call to strike is valid until 6 a.m. on Friday.
Ver.di is demanding 10.5 percent more wages for the 2.5 million federal and local employees nationwide, but at least 500 euros more per month. Employers are gradually offering five percent more for a two-year term and a one-off payment of 2,500 euros. In the second round of negotiations there was no rapprochement. The third round of negotiations is scheduled for March 27-29 in Potsdam.
Advice on nationwide strike day
In addition, the ver.di and EVG unions, which are organized in the umbrella organization DGB, want to decide tomorrow on a possible joint mobility strike that could affect buses, trains and airports nationwide. In addition to the federal and local authorities, Ver.di also negotiates the tariffs for aviation security at airports, while EVG negotiates salaries at Deutsche Bahn and 50 other private railways. In all collective bargaining rounds, the talks are apparently tough, employer offers are well below the union demands or are pending.
The train drivers’ union GdL, which organizes most train drivers and train attendants, should not take part in a possible warning strike at Deutsche Bahn. Your collective agreement runs until October 31, 2023, until then the peace obligation applies.