Unions refuse offer for striking day care workers
Public day care workers will likely continue their strikes after their unions refused a new offer from state employers during negotiations in Berlin on Wednesday.
Public workers’ union Verdi and the Education and Science Workers’ Union (GEW) said they are considering further strikes in certain states for next week after the unsatisfactory offer.
Current wages for 220,000 educators across the country are unfair, and workers need better healthcare options to handle the strain of their jobs, the unions say.
According to union figures, only 58 percent of social workers and 26 percent of educators see themselves reaching retirement in good health under the current working conditions. They have already staged strikes across the nation for the last five business days, forcing parents to find last-minute alternatives for their little ones.
Despite plans for negotiations on Wednesday, the unions called strikes for educators and social workers in Munich, Frankfurt, Kassel, Mainz and Worms for the same day.
But the German Association of Municipal Employers (VKA) said that their offer, which includes a safely analysis of their work place, should remove new strikes “from the table.”
“We expect all strike measures to stop immediately,” VKA head Manfred Hoffmann said.
The unions have said they are prepared for prolonged strikes.
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Public workers’ union Verdi and the Education and Science Workers’ Union (GEW) said they are considering further strikes in certain states for next week after the unsatisfactory offer.
Current wages for 220,000 educators across the country are unfair, and workers need better healthcare options to handle the strain of their jobs, the unions say.
According to union figures, only 58 percent of social workers and 26 percent of educators see themselves reaching retirement in good health under the current working conditions. They have already staged strikes across the nation for the last five business days, forcing parents to find last-minute alternatives for their little ones.
Despite plans for negotiations on Wednesday, the unions called strikes for educators and social workers in Munich, Frankfurt, Kassel, Mainz and Worms for the same day.
But the German Association of Municipal Employers (VKA) said that their offer, which includes a safely analysis of their work place, should remove new strikes “from the table.”
“We expect all strike measures to stop immediately,” VKA head Manfred Hoffmann said.
The unions have said they are prepared for prolonged strikes.
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