The president of the German Civil Servants’ Association (DBB), Ulrich Silberbach, has threatened major work stoppages ahead of collective bargaining for federal and municipal government employees given the difficulties in communicating with employers.
«As I interpret the situation at the moment, we are not going to stick to the usual warning strikes,» Silberbach told the ‘Rheinische Post’.
«If they continue to hold back in this way, and even consider coming to us with demands, I will not rule out calling for widespread strikes. Then we will see how uncomfortable everything is going to be,» he warned.
On January 24, the DBB and the main Verdi union will begin collective bargaining for some 2.5 million federal and municipal employees. The unions are demanding 10.5 percent more income, but at least 500 euros more per month.
The Association of Municipal Employers’ Associations (VKA) had rejected the demands as «unaffordable».
«We are going to get into a lot of conflicts simply because the employers are falling into the old patterns of complaints,» Silberbach said. «They still haven’t understood that they have to do something for the workers in the crisis,» he added.
For the DBB president, the government-imposed cap on energy prices, to help Germans weather massive inflation, «is not enough by a long shot.»
In the latest round of collective bargaining for federal government and local authority civil servants in 2020, hospitals, kindergartens, local transport and savings banks were among those affected by stoppages and protests.
However, strikes were comparatively moderate at that time, which was partly attributed to coronavirus precautions.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
