Verdi’s next major warning strike is planned for this Wednesday. This time, municipal day-care centers and social institutions are the focus of the campaigns. Verdi has chosen a special date for this.
Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – The Verdi union in North Rhine-Westphalia expects thousands of strikers to go on warning strikes in municipal daycare centers and social facilities this Wednesday. The union expects around 8,000 to 10,000 participants nationwide for the rallies in a number of NRW cities, Verdi union secretary Tjark Sauer told the German Press Agency on Tuesday. According to the union, it will be decided on site in the daycare centers whether an emergency service will be offered on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Verdi announced two more warning strikes in local public transport: Regionalverkehr Münsterland GmbH was affected on Wednesday. According to the company, this affects many bus trips. On Thursday, the local transport company DSW21 in Dortmund will be on strike. “The strike measures will completely shut down public transport with buses and trains in Dortmund,” the company said. There had already been extensive warning strikes in local public transport in North Rhine-Westphalia on Friday.
The background to the warning strikes is the collective bargaining conflict in the public sector, which involves federal and local employees. Verdi and the civil servants’ association dbb are demanding 10.5 percent more income for the approximately 2.5 million employees, but at least 500 euros more per month. In the second round of negotiations, despite an offer from the employer, there was still no rapprochement between the parties to the collective bargaining agreement. The third round of negotiations is scheduled for the end of March.
According to trade union information, there are around 10,000 day-care centers in the most populous federal state, around a quarter of which are municipally owned. Sauer emphasized that the issue was better pay for employees and better staffing in the day-care centers. With around 140,000 employees in all daycare centers in North Rhine-Westphalia, tens of thousands of employees are already missing.
Verdi had already announced on Friday that there could be restrictions on operations and closures. According to Verdi, the nationwide warning strikes will take place on International Women’s Day, since women are the majority of social workers with a share of 83 percent. According to the state district, rallies and campaigns are planned in more than 15 cities in North Rhine-Westphalia on Wednesday, including Dortmund, Cologne, Ratingen and Münster.
“For over 100 years, International Women’s Day has stood for enforcing equal rights and fair pay for women,” said Andrea Becker, head of the regional department, on Friday. In social work, women are predominantly active and the working conditions are often precarious. Whether part-time or temporary, women felt the consequences of the current crises most clearly. In many cases there is also a lack of financial recognition for work in the social professions.
The Association of Municipal Employers’ Associations (VKA) has meanwhile expressed its incomprehension about the call for a strike. “The fact that daycare facilities are now being hit again shows that the unions are carrying out collective bargaining policies at the expense of parents and young families for the second time in a few months,” said VKA President Karin Welge on Tuesday. The strike calls do not reflect the course of the negotiations, they are on schedule as originally agreed.