Collective bargaining talks for the public sector drag on

The collective bargaining talks for the federal and local public sector in Potsdam are dragging on. Some participants saw some movement in the possibly decisive round of negotiations on Sunday, as the Deutsche Presse-Agentur learnt on the sidelines. For the time being, however, no one wanted to make a prediction about the chances of an agreement.

At stake are the income and working hours of more than 2.5 million employees, from day-care centres to refuse collectors. Verdi and dbb Beamtenbund are demanding a pay rise of eight per cent, but at least 350 euros more per month, as well as at least three additional days off per year. The demands are too expensive for federal and local government employers. They put the core demands of the trade unions alone at 15 billion euros per year for the local authorities.

DGB leader defends demands

Yasmin Fahimi, head of the German Trade Union Confederation, defended the strict negotiating line. ‘We know from reliable surveys that we continue to have very broad support for people striking for better pay and working conditions,’ Fahimi told the Rheinische Post newspaper. She referred to rising prices for food, energy and rents.

The talks in Potsdam are already the third round of negotiations. They are scheduled to last until Sunday evening, but could continue into Monday night. If no result is reached, the talks could be postponed. In this case, there could be warning strikes in the public sector again - recently, tens of thousands of employees in daycare centres, at airports and in waste collection had already temporarily stopped work. It is also conceivable that one side could declare that the negotiations have failed. In this case, there would be arbitration and no further warning strikes for the time being.