Ei-iE

Berlin’s educators have gone on strike over better working conditions and an improved salary scale, according to the Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft (GEW), one of EI’s national affiliates.

On 21 August, 3,000 teachers demonstrated over the negative impact of current salary regulations and over the need for age-appropriate working conditions. They also denounced the fact that the Senate of the Berlin Land (local government) denied their collective bargaining rights.

“Ten years ago, this city’s policy makers decided that teachers were not to become city officials,” explained the President of GEW Berlin, Doreen Siebernik. “As a result over 9,000 salaried teachers are denied their rights as employees and they are now fed up of not being taken seriously as employees.”

Strike objectives legal

Siebernik branded as provocative the refusal of Berlin’s Finance Senator Nussbaum not to engage in negotiations with the GEW Berlin. “It stands in stark contrast to the decision of Berlin’s Labour Court, which confirmed in April the legality of our strikes and strike objectives,” she added. “Moreover, the Court told Senator Nussbaum that he is clearly our negotiating partner in this contract dispute.”

The union had originally approached the Berlin Lander in November 2012 to engage in negotiation over working conditions. Demands for salary classification scales for salaried teachers and regulations on age-appropriate working conditions, allowing teachers to remain as healthy as possible for as long as possible during their service, were put on the table.

From the GEW’s point of view, there can be no peace as long as there is no change in the Senate’s position. “It is indeed quite clear that the teachers’ working conditions are the students’ learning conditions. This is precisely why our profession should not make us sick,” said Siebernik.

Frank Bsirske, National Chairman of the multi-service trade union federation, Ver.di, also took part in the demonstration and emphasised in his speech the Ver.di’s solidarity with the GEW’s strike activities.

Respect for teachers’ collective bargaining right

“We strongly support our German affiliates in their struggle to ensure decent working and living conditions for teachers,” said Martin Rømer, Director of EI’s European region, the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE). “These demands are nothing special; they are rather necessary conditions to guarantee quality education in this country. ETUCE also urges the German public authorities to immediately engage in dialogue in good faith with the organisations representing educators in their areas.”