German public-sector workers to step up strikes
BERLIN, Germany – A German union said yesterday it plans to step up a strike campaign by public-service workers as it wrangles with the government over its demand for a big pay increase.
The ver.di union wants a 6.5 per cent increase this year for two million federal and municipal government employees. It flatly rejected an offer this week of 3.3 per cent staggered over two years, which it said wouldn’t even keep pace with inflation.
Last week, 130,000 workers staged walkouts in various cities to support the union demand, disrupting local transport and other services.
Ver.di leader Frank Bsirske said he expects that “warning strikes will be intensified from next week” across Germany, increasing pressure ahead of the next round of pay talks scheduled for March 28 and 29.
Limited so-called warning strikes, usually lasting only a few hours at a time, are a regular tactic in German wage negotiations. Bsirske told n-tv television that, if there is no agreement at the end of this month, his union likely would have members vote on full-scale strikes.
Ver.di argues that public-sector workers deserve a significant increase after showing relative restraint in recent years, and after two years of strong economic growth.
But the government has pointed to slowing growth — Germany’s economy, Europe’s biggest, contracted slightly in last year’s final quarter though it is expected to start growing again this spring.
“When you’re looking for compromises, it is normal for both partners to make compromises,” said Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich, the government’s chief negotiator. “The unions so far have not moved in any way.”
Friedrich called on unions to “refrain from the disproportionate warning strikes”.