BERLIN/Germany: Day-care centres for children have become the latest facilities to be hit by a wave of strikes in Germany’s public sector.
Trade union Verdi has called for nationwide walkouts by employees in social and educational services on Wednesday.
In the large southern state of Bavaria, many day-care centres did not open in the morning, a Verdi spokesperson said. Some offered emergency care for children at other locations.
In North Rhine Westphalia, Germany’s economic hub in the western part of the country, Verdi secretary Tjark Sauer confirmed the start of the walkouts and said the union expects about 8,000-10,000 participants in protests in various cities.
In Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony, there was no emergency care offered in municipal day-care centres.
“The warning strikes have started as planned, we are seeing a large turnout,” said Stefan Schorr, the lead negotiator for Verdi in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland.
Against a background of historically high inflation, Verdi and the civil servants’ union dbb are demanding 10.5% more pay, or at least €500 ($530) more.
This would apply to some 2.5 million employees of the municipalities and the federal government.
The unions rejected an offer made by the employers in the most recent second round of negotiations.
