Cologne/Potsdam (dpa/lnw) – The Verdi union in North Rhine-Westphalia is expanding its warning strikes in the collective bargaining dispute for the public sector at federal and local level. The Verdi services union called on all public employees in the greater Cologne, Bonn and Leverkusen areas to go on an all-day warning strike on Monday. Verdi announced on Thursday evening that this would result in significant restrictions in local public transport and at Cologne/Bonn Airport.
In the municipalities, people would have to be prepared for longer waiting times in the offices. Almost all day care centers in Cologne, Bonn, Troisdorf, Hennef and Gummersbach would be affected. This also applies to the municipal hospitals and the supply and disposal companies in the region.
The employers had submitted an offer during the nationwide negotiations in Potsdam on Thursday. Among other things, it includes a pay increase of five percent in two steps and one-off payments totaling 2,500 euros. Verdi and the civil servants’ association dbb are demanding 10.5 percent more income, but at least 500 euros more per month.
The unions rejected the employers’ offer as completely inadequate. “Instead of discrediting justified warning strikes as a reaction to the disrespectful attitude of employers, public employers should better ask themselves how wise it is to refuse a negotiable offer in view of the shortage of skilled workers and rising prices,” said the Verdi district manager for Cologne-Bonn-Leverkusen , Daniel Colle.
On March 27, the negotiations for employees in the federal and local governments are to be continued. A separate collective agreement applies to the employees of the federal states.
