Across the country, thousands of employees in the education sector followed the GEW call for a day of strike in the public sector. The union is demanding 10.5 percent more money. There is no offer from employers yet.
According to the Education and Science Union (GEW), thousands of people took part in a new warning strike in the public sector.
According to a spokesman, around 6,000 educators and teachers in schools, employees from daycare centers and universities as well as social workers in youth, health and social welfare offices took part in Berlin. They wanted to emphasize their demand in the ongoing collective bargaining for more money and better working conditions.
GEW federal chairwoman Maike Finnern demanded at a rally at the Brandenburg Gate that salaries should now increase noticeably. “In our daycare centers, schools and universities, our colleagues are working to the limit,” she said, according to GEW. “They represent the future of our country. They educate and educate children, teenagers and young adults. Their work is indispensable.”
7,000 people demonstrated in Leipzig
According to GEW, more than 7,000 people took part in a demonstration in Leipzig. They traveled from Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. “We are living through the biggest educational crisis in Germany’s history,” explained GEW board member Doreen Siebernik. If employers don’t wake up now and pay their colleagues in the public sector fairly, the shortage of skilled workers will continue to worsen. There were further rallies in Hamburg and Karlsruhe.
As with similar work stoppages in recent weeks, there were restrictions in some schools, universities and offices in addition to daycare centers.
So far no agreement on two rounds of negotiations
The background is the current collective bargaining conflict in the public sector in the federal states. There has been no agreement in two rounds of negotiations so far. Negotiations are taking place nationwide. The next round of negotiations is planned for December 7th and 8th in Potsdam.
GEW, ver.di and other unions are demanding, among other things, 10.5 percent more money, but at least 500 euros per month for a term of twelve months. For trainees the increase should be 200 euros. For Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen, the unions are also demanding a city-state allowance of 300 euros.
There is currently no offer from employers.