Tens of thousands strike in Berlin against poor working conditions
Tens of thousands of public sector workers participated in a one-day strike in Berlin on Wednesday for wage increases and better working conditions. The anger among the workers was palpable in a march of more than 10,000 from Alexanderplatz to the Brandenburg Gate. By contrast, the trade unions are doing all they can to sabotage the movement and lead it into a dead end.
A total of 140,000 workers in kindergartens, schools, state and local authorities, universities, the fire service, and police were called out on strike. According to figures from the state Senate, 100 kindergartens remained closed. Lessons at 600 schools were cancelled because 4,100 teachers were on strike. Local authority offices ran a limited service.
The unions Verdi, the Education and Science Union (GEW), and German Police Union (GDP) are demanding a 6 percent pay increase or a minimum pay increase of €200 per month for the one million public sector workers employed by Germany’s 16 states. Strikes took place in Saxony on Tuesday and in North Rhein-Westphalia today.
Workers who took to the streets in Berlin on Wednesday were not just protesting for wage increases of a few percent as proposed by the unions, which in previous contracts were rapidly eaten up by inflation. They protested against policies that for decades have subordinated every area of social life to the drive for profit.
Read more: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/02/14/berl-f14.html
