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Berlin parents helpless as childcare workers strike

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Berlin parents helpless as childcare workers strike
Photo: DPA

Parents in Berlin found themselves in the middle of a public sector strike on Monday, as both teachers and childcare givers walked off the job to increase pressure on the city in an ongoing wage dispute.

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Some 5,000 teachers and 10,000 childcare providers from state-run daycare centres have been called to strike until Thursday, Berlin daily Der Tagespiegel reported on Monday. Only a few kindergartens plan to close for all four days of the strike, and it is not clear how many teachers and Kita workers will actually participate.

“We don’t know the exact number of participants,” spokesperson for the GEW childcare and teachers union told the paper. “But the resonance in the run-up has been great.”

Some parents have reacted to the strike with understanding, while others feel they are paying the price in the wage dispute, the paper reported.

Too many teachers and caregivers are taking part in the strike, André Schindler, head of the state parents committee told the paper. “Some parents got letters from the schools saying they should pick their kids up at midday or not send them to school at all,” he said. “This can’t be. The union’s aims are undoubtedly important, but they shouldn’t be at the expense of the children.”

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