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Main page content: German public sector strikes widen By Hugh Williamsonin Berlin Published: February 10 2006 17:28 | Last updated: February 10 2006 17:28 Germans face increased disruption of public services from Monday onwards, following the decision on Friday by the countrys largest trade union to expand strikes launched this week to all corners of western Germany. ADVERTISEMENT
Hospital patients and commuters will be among those hit hardest when thousands of clinic staff and road maintenance workers join picket lines on Monday, in the largest public sector strike in 14 years. Verdi, the services trade union, called the strikes to protest at cost-cutting and longer working hours. The strikes pose an early labour relations test for the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, which took
power two months ago. Officials close to the chancellor told the Financial Times this week that she would not intervene in the labour dispute, but they acknowledged that a long strike would be disruptive and could undermine efforts to build co-operative relations between the government and trade unions. The strikes starting on Monday are expected to involve at least 20,000 public sector workers employed by some of Germanys 16 regional states, including North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Hamburg. Around 94 per cent of Verdi members in these regions balloted over strike action voted in favour of indefinite work stoppages, according to a ballot result published on Friday. Kurt Marten, Verdi executive committee member responsible for collective bargaining, told the FT that emergency operations would be covered in the hospitals where industrial action takes place, but admitted that routine operations would be cancelled. Verdi wants the regional states to sign a collective bargaining agreement struck in February 2005 with local authorities and the federal government. The states refused to sign in order to retain greater flexibility in controlling working hours and in implementing cuts to holiday and Christmas pay. To maximise the impact of the protests Verdi has combined the industrial action directed at regional states with strikes by local authority workers aimed at preventing the lengthening of working time from 38.5 to 40 hours per week. Tens of thousands of rubbish collectors, hospital workers and kindergarten staff in Baden-Wrttemberg, southern Germany, went on strike this week, and Verdi said yesterday that these protests would also be expanded next week. Employers organisations and business leaders have urged Verdi to call off the industrial action, dismissing as completely unsubstantiated Verdis fears that the longer working hours for local authority workers would lead to at least 10,000 job losses. Separately, the IG Metall metal workers union is due on Monday to open regional negotiations with engineering employers on a new wage agreement. The union threatened this week to mount strikes in early April if a wage demand of 5 per cent is not met. EMAIL ARTICLEPRINT ARTICLEMOST POPULAR
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