Federal and local authorities: Tariff poker starts – public services facing warning strikes

In the collective bargaining dispute for the federal and local public services, citizens will face restrictions in the coming weeks. There will certainly be warning strikes and protests, said the negotiator of the dbb civil servants’ association, Volker Geyer, after an unsuccessful first round of collective bargaining in Potsdam. “The federal and local governments leave us no other choice.”

The civil service association accused the employers of delaying the negotiations. That is “unacceptable”. The dbb and the Verdi union had already agreed to a tough collective bargaining dispute in the fall.

According to Verdi, more than 2.5 million people are directly or indirectly affected by the negotiations. The Federal Ministry of the Interior speaks of 2.6 million employees at municipal employers and 132,000 collective bargaining employees at the federal level. For example, you work in social or medical professions, in administration, at schools and universities, in local transport or in waste disposal companies. Firefighters and federal police are also included.

The majority are employed according to the collective agreement for the public service (TVöD); the collective agreement is usually transferred to civil servants later. Negotiations are held separately for state employees.

What do the unions want?

Verdi and the Civil Service Association are demanding eight percent more wages, but at least 350 euros more per month. Trainees should receive 200 euros more per month. In particularly stressful jobs, such as in the health sector with alternating shifts, there should be higher bonuses.

Further demands revolve around the topics of working hours and flexibility. “When it comes to money alone, the private sector will always depend on the state, which is why a factor such as workplace sovereignty is also crucial for the competitiveness of the public service,” said Geyer.

The unions want three additional days off for all employees and four days for union members. Employees should also receive personal working time accounts. This should allow them to decide for themselves whether they want overtime paid out or use it for additional days off, for example.

This is how employers react

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in Potsdam that she expected a path to compromise. A fair balance must be found “between the interests of the public service and the necessary respect for the employees – and on the other hand also for the difficult budget situation.” The SPD politician emphasized that the financial situation is tense not only in the municipalities, but also in the federal government.

She is still confident that a “fair solution” is possible – like the most recent round of collective bargaining two years ago. This time there is a large package of demands instead of individual demands from the unions, said Faeser. “That certainly gives more scope, including for the question: “Where do we meet in the end?” Together with Karin Welge (SPD), Mayor of Gelsenkirchen and President of the Association of Municipal Employers’ Associations (VKA), Faeser is leading the negotiations on the employers’ side.

The majority of public sector employees are employed by municipalities. For some of them, the budget holes are particularly large. Welge warned that the additional costs could not be financed by the unions’ demands.

In Potsdam, Verdi boss Frank Werneke clearly criticized the investment backlog in the municipalities. According to KfW Bank, this now amounts to around 18 billion euros. “The municipalities have been systematically let down by the federal and state governments for years,” he said. At the same time, more and more tasks are being assigned to municipalities.

The unions warned that many municipalities were on the verge of collapse. Around 500,000 positions are already unfilled. According to the Civil Service Association, a further 1.4 million employees will retire in the next ten years. “It’s about maintaining the functionality of public services,” warned Werneke.

The unions expect “concrete offers” from the federal and local governments, said Civil Service Association spokesman Geyer. “If Ms. Faeser and Ms. Welge just keep accusing us of the municipalities’ financial crisis in the negotiations, we won’t get any further.” Details about possible warning strikes and actions in the public sector were not initially known.

What is the significance of the traffic light being off?

The early federal election falls in the middle of collective bargaining. Faeser emphasized that this should have no impact on further negotiations. “This is a completely normal process. We have consultations here between the unions and the employer representatives and in this respect I am approaching these collective bargaining negotiations as I did two years ago.”

The second round of negotiations will take place on February 17th and 18th, almost a week before the new Bundestag elections. The expected final round of negotiations is scheduled for March 14th to 16th.