The strikes by employees at six university hospitals in North Rhine-Westphalia in the fight for a collective bargaining agreement have already lasted a month. Although there are many negotiation dates, but so far no offer from the clinic management.
Cologne (dpa / lnw) – There is still no end to the strikes by employees at six university clinics in North Rhine-Westphalia after four weeks due to hardened fronts. From the point of view of the Verdi union, “a reversal in the negotiating behavior of the clinic directors” is necessary for a rapprochement or even agreement in the negotiations for a collective agreement relief. This was emphasized by the Verdi leadership at a press conference on Wednesday at the University Hospital in Cologne.
“After a month of strikes, the employers of the university hospitals are still a long way from conducting negotiations that would quickly end the strikes by the hospital workers,” emphasized Gabriele Schmidt, Verdi regional manager in North Rhine-Westphalia. The initial joy about a series of negotiation dates quickly gave way to disillusionment, union representatives and employees noted. They urged employers not to engage in “negotiation games”.
According to Verdi, there is no offer from employers in the second week of collective bargaining, which is taking place in Cologne. The future state government is also expected to make a commitment to refinance the collective agreement that is still to be negotiated. Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) had already promised his support weeks ago. “We assume that the CDU and the Greens will keep their promises,” said Schmidt. “But that’s a matter between the clinics and politics.”
Schmidt was downright annoyed by a letter from the clinic bosses to the Verdi national board with the demand that the strike measures in North Rhine-Westphalia be suspended during the negotiations. “It’s a pretty unfriendly act,” said the Verdi country manager. You really don’t know anything like this from other collective bargaining. “It’s a special process.”
Verdi regional department manager Katharina Wesenick also underlined the urgency of an agreement. Precise personnel assessments and quotas have been worked out for all work areas in the clinics, but after four rounds of negotiations there is no offer from the clinic management. But a further nine negotiation dates until June 22nd. According to Verdi, there should be an offer from the employer on June 9th. “If we keep up the pace, nobody will benefit from it,” said Wesenick. “But if there are tangible results and we sign a collective agreement, we will stop striking immediately.”
For the afternoon, the union had again called for demonstrations and rallies in front of the ward of the Cologne University Hospital and at the Heumarkt in the cathedral city. Several hundred participants were expected.
The employees of the university hospitals in Aachen, Bonn, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Essen and Münster have been demanding binding staff assessments for all work areas and a load equalization for understaffed shifts for weeks. The situation of the trainees must also improve significantly. The employer side is quite understanding of the employees’ goals, but there is still a particular lack of nursing staff on the market.
