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Strike posters at a Berlin school (archive photo)
Photo: Kay Nietfeld / picture alliance / dpa
In the long-simmering dispute with the Berlin Senate about better working conditions for school workers, the Education and Science Union (GEW) is stepping up its pace.
She is calling on teachers and other employees to go on a two-day warning strike on Tuesday and Wednesday.
So far, the GEW has organized seven one-day warning strikes since 2021.
Their goal is smaller school classes and a corresponding collective agreement.
The Senate sees itself unable to do this and points out that Berlin - like all other federal states except Hesse - belongs to the collective bargaining community of German states (TdL).
Without the consent of the collective bargaining community, Berlin cannot begin collective bargaining on class size.
The TdL reject such negotiations.
The aim of the strike: working conditions that do not make people ill
»The sickness rate in the schools and daycare centers in this city is currently higher than ever.
The poor working conditions are also a reason for this.
We want to negotiate with the Senate about working conditions that don't make you ill," explained Udo Mertens, head of the board department for civil servants, employees and collective bargaining at GEW.
He also pointed out the lack of school social workers in the schools.
The union is calling for a job for 150 schoolchildren as part of the collective agreement on health protection.
The GEW has been presenting its concerns since June 2021.
The last warning strike to date took place on December 15, 2022.
At the time, according to GEW, 2,500 teachers, social workers and school psychologists took part in the walkout.
The education administration counted 1,750 teachers on warning strikes.
There are around 34,000 teachers in Berlin, many of whom are employees and, unlike civil servants, are allowed to go on strike.
kfr/dpa
