Public service: This is how the collective bargaining dispute continues

Employers and unions negotiated for days in the third round and yet there was no agreement for the 2.5 million federal and local employees. The employers announced early Thursday morning in the Potsdam negotiation hotel that they would convene the arbitration commission. The unions had previously declared the talks to have failed. Both sides were disappointed. How to proceed now:

How does the shift work in the public service?

According to fixed rules and deadlines. From Sunday onwards there is a peace obligation, warning strikes are then excluded until after Easter. The chairmen of the arbitration commission are the former Prime Minister of Saxony Georg Milbradt from the employers’ side and the former Bremen State Councilor Hans-Henning Lühr for the trade unions – Lühr with the decisive vote in case of doubt.

How can the arbitration end?

With an agreement if both sides accept the arbitration award expected in mid-April. As the example of the most recent comprehensive strikes in the public sector shows, arbitration does not necessarily bring about a breakthrough. In 1992, an arbitration decision was not accepted and around ten days of widespread strikes followed.

What’s on the negotiating table?

The employers have offered eight percent more income and a minimum amount of 300 euros and a one-off payment of 3000 euros. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said that people could have been helped very quickly right now in May, after all the costs are very high right now. “And I think that would have been in the interests of the employees to have a quick solution now.”

What do the employers say about their actions in the final round?

Faeser referred to the responsibility that arises from the fact that it was not just any money that was being negotiated, but rather tax money that had to be used to pay employees’ incomes. The chief negotiator for the municipalities, Karin Welge, said: “Until shortly before midnight, we didn’t lose faith that we could bridge the gap.”

How did the unions react to the offer?

Verdi boss Werneke spoke of irreconcilable differences. The public employers are “not in a position to take the first step towards the employees and their unions in order to actually make a socially just degree possible”. The unions want 10.5 percent more wages, but at least 500 euros more.

What else was negotiated?

Another aspect is the term – the unions are demanding 12 months. That’s not enough for employers. They initially offered 27 months. There was also intense debate about this. As it was said in negotiating circles, both sides were willing to compromise. The head of the civil servants’ association dbb, Ulrich Silberbach, noted that concessions on the part of the unions on the issue of the term were not sufficient in the end for an overall solution in view of the general position of the employers.

How willing are the unions to go on strike today?

Whether bus drivers, nurses, educators, garbage and sewage workers, tram drivers or employees at airports – employees have been showing a great desire to go on strike for months. In surveys, large parts of the population expressed understanding for this – and for the argument that many public servants tend to be underpaid. Verdi sees itself strengthened by the massive warning strikes of the past few weeks and has recorded more than 70,000 entries in the past three months. Verdi boss Werneke is also up for re-election at the federal congress of his union in September, then good wage agreements and successful mobilization count.

What makes the current collective bargaining dispute special?

“There’s real pressure on the boiler now,” said Werneke weeks ago. The country was already in the middle of the inflation and energy price crisis when Verdi and dbb presented their demands in October. But many municipalities also have empty coffers. They calculated that implementing the requirement would cost them 15.4 billion euros.

What is particularly important to the trade unions?

Many employees, for example in day-care centers, swimming pools or garbage disposal, are currently only just getting paid, as was repeatedly heard in many interviews during the strikes. In January and February, too, consumer prices were 8.7 percent above the level of the same month last year. The deal is now intended to compensate for persistently high inflation and increase real wages. Werneke described “a socially balanced collective agreement, a social component, a minimum amount” as “the most important thing for the employees”.