‘Biggest strike so far’: Munich to be hit by more disruption

Numerous municipal departments and businesses - including Kitas (day-care centres) and some hospitals - will shut their doors Tuesday in the Bavarian capital as workers walk off the job in the all-day strike.

Published: 20 March 2023 17:18 CET
Updated: 21 March 2023 09:52 CET

The colourful window of a Kita in Munich. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Peter Kneffel

The trade union Verdi has called on Munich public sector employees to participate in a major action on Tuesday, March 21st.

“According to the feedback from the participating companies and administrations so far, this will be the biggest strike action in recent years,” Munich’s Verdi managing director Heinrich Birner told the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Birner estimated that around 3,000 people would take part in the city-wide action, which will begin with a mass gathering at Marienplatz in the city centre at 11 am.

The strikes are set to result in the closure of city administrative departments, social and educational services, waste management companies, and public utility services, including swimming pools, hospitals including München Klinik, banks belonging to the Stadtsparkasse, and the Employment Office (Agentur für Arbeit).

In recent weeks, workers all over Germany have been walking off the job in an ongoing dispute for higher wages.

The latest round of Verdi strikes on Monday saw public transport come to a halt in several cities in North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria.

Residents of Bavaria’s capital have particularly felt the effects of the actions in recent weeks, as rubbish bins have remained empty, buses and trams have come to a standstill, children were unable to go to Kitas, and flights at Munich airport were delayed or cancelled.

Verdi is asking for a 10.5 percent wage increase for the 2.5 million federal and local government employees nationwide, but at least €500 more per month.

The employers have so far offered a gradual five per cent increase over a two-year period, as well as €2,500 in one-off payments, which Verdi has rejected as insufficient.

“Many in the lower income groups really don’t know where they can save any more,” said Birner.

In expensive Munich, workers suffer particularly from inflation, which continues to drive up the costs of food, energy and housing.

In addition, employees are carrying a heavy workload, as thousands of jobs are now unfilled. The Bavarian state capital alone is short of more than 4,000 workers.

Verdi has said that it will organise a countrywide strike in both public transport and administration on Monday, March 27th if its demands continue to go unmet.

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The strike, set to begin early on Tuesday August 27th and last until the end of the day Friday August 30th, is being held over a collective bargaining dispute.

The airline operates 27 aircraft from Munich and Frankfurt to holiday destinations in Europe and overseas. The industrial action will likely cause severe disruptions to people’s holiday plans.

Plots and cabin crew staff are to stop work from just after midnight on Monday until the end of the day on Friday, according to unions. All departures from Germany will be affected.

A notice on the Discover Airlines website said: “The trade unions Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) and the Independent Flight Attendants’ Organisation (UFO) have called for strikes on all Discover Airlines flights from August 27th until the 30th at midnight. We are working to minimise the impact on our guests. Please check your current flight status regularly and enter your contact details in your booking.”

The pilots’ association and the UFO are calling for a strike to enforce their own collective bargaining agreements. The union Verdi recently struck a collective bargaining agreement with Discover, but the majority of workers were not satisfied with the agreement’s terms.

“Unfortunately, this will have an unavoidable impact on Discover Airlines flights,” said UFO boss Joachim Vazquez Bürger. “We sincerely regret this circumstance.”

Employees voted with a large majority in favour of industrial action in separate ballots.

VC and UFO had previously spent months negotiating with the airline’s management about concluding collective agreements and said they were close to signing them.

They suspect that the Lufthansa Group’s strategy of weakening influential trade unions is behind the switch to Verdi.

Around 1,900 people work on board Discover’s flights, however, it is not known how many of them belong to a union.

It comes after a wave of strikes – including in the airline sector – caused major disruption earlier this year in Germany. Pilots at Discover Airlines were called out on strike then.