Berlin: Charité staff strike again as Verdi votes on indefinite action

Staff at Charité, Berlin’s university hospital, were called out on a one-hour warning strike this morning in front of the Berlin state parliament. The trade union Verdi is also holding a vote, which closes on 5 November, on an open-ended strike, Tagesspiegel reports, citing the dpa news agency.

What happened

According to Tagesspiegel, Verdi called on employees of the Universitätsmedizin Charité (the Charité university medical centre) to take part in a Warnstreik from 9 to 10 am on 29 October. A Warnstreik is a short, time-limited strike, usually held while pay or contract negotiations are still going on. The protest took place on Margot-Friedländer-Platz, the square in front of the Berliner Abgeordnetenhaus, the Berlin state parliament. The newly elected parliament was meeting for its first, constituent session on the same day.

The dispute is about the Entlastungstarifvertrag, which translates roughly as “relief collective agreement”. Verdi says the agreement covers staffing levels and compensation for staff who work on understaffed shifts. The union says employees are striking to keep the agreement and develop it further, and it accuses the Charité board of wanting to make it worse.

Gisela Neunhöffer, deputy head of Verdi’s regional health division for Berlin-Brandenburg, said, as translated from the German: “The Charité needs a collective agreement that ensures employees stay, trainees are well trained and new colleagues can be won.”

The timing of the protest was deliberate. The parties that could form a possible red-green-red coalition (the SPD, the Greens and Die Linke, named after their party colours) included a commitment to the Entlastungstarifvertrag in their Sondierungspapier, the paper that summarises exploratory talks before formal coalition negotiations. Verdi said the strikers now expect binding commitments based on that statement.

Tagesspiegel reports that Verdi has been negotiating with Charité since July over a new version of the agreement. The union says it has called ten warning strikes during that time.

What it means for you

Today’s warning strike was limited to one hour, from 9 to 10 am, and took place at a single location in front of the parliament building. The report does not say how many staff took part or whether appointments, operations or wards at Charité’s sites were affected.

The bigger question is the vote now under way. Since Monday, Verdi members have been voting on an Erzwingungsstreik, which literally means “enforcement strike”. Verdi describes it as the last option once negotiations are exhausted. Strikers would stop work with no fixed end date, unlike the short warning strikes held so far.

If you are a Charité patient, or you have an appointment or planned treatment there in the coming weeks, keep an eye on the news after the vote closes on 5 November. The source does not explain how an open-ended strike would be organised or which services would continue. If you have treatment booked, it makes sense to check directly with your clinic or department at Charité if a strike is announced.

If you work at Charité yourself, the vote and any strike decisions come from Verdi. Union members can get details through their Verdi representatives.

What to watch next

• 5 November: Voting on the Erzwingungsstreik ends. The result will show whether Verdi moves to an indefinite strike.
• Coalition talks: Verdi wants the possible red-green-red coalition to turn the Sondierungspapier’s commitment to the Entlastungstarifvertrag into binding promises. Watch whether the agreement appears in any coalition deal.
• Negotiations with the Charité board: Talks have been going on since July. Any new offer from the board could change the course of the dispute before or after the vote.

Source: Tagesspiegel