Warning strike in the Leipzig Heart Center: Employees demand fair salaries!

Warning strike in the Leipzig Heart Center: Employees demand fair salaries!

Next Monday, August 11th, the Leipzig Heart Center will be the scene of a warning strike. The ver.di union has called on employees to stand up for their demands in the green area on Chemnitzer Straße/corner of Prager Straße from 9 a.m. Despite the strike, emergency care is still being provided in the heart center, which is an important all-clear for many patients. The background is the ongoing collective bargaining, which came to a disappointing end in the last round on July 21st: the employers did not submit an acceptable offer.

How LVZ Reportedly, employees at the Leipzig Heart Center are still dissatisfied with their salaries. The differences to the salaries in other Helios clinics, such as in Aue, Leisnig and Plauen, are obvious. Verdi negotiator André Urmann emphasized that without a good collective agreement, it would be difficult to attract and retain skilled workers for the specialist clinic.

Demands and status of negotiations

The ver.di members have ambitious demands that they have been putting forward in the negotiations since February. These include, among other things, a salary increase of 12%, an increase in the night bonus and a limitation of daily working hours to a maximum of eight hours. Jennifer Roll, a nurse and member of the collective bargaining committee, emphasized once again that the employees are willing to compromise, but do not want to accept any permanent deterioration. She demands a fair offer that does justice to current living and working conditions.

A look beyond the borders of the heart center shows that the pressure on employers in the health sector is increasing nationwide. This is consistent with the results of daily news, who report similar warning strikes in numerous health facilities. The situation is further exacerbated by a collective bargaining dispute between the federal government and local authorities.

In this context, ver.di's demands not only include salary increases, but also an increase in training allowances and additional days off. Participation in Monday's warning strike is expected to be high, as has been observed in previous events. The union has announced that future steps are also planned to increase pressure on employers.

Outlook on the negotiations

As collective bargaining drags on, it remains to be seen how employers will respond to the announcements. Verdi is optimistic about an agreement, but the employers' offers so far suggest that there is still a need for further negotiations. The financial aspects are particularly serious, which employers consider to be too high and which, in their view, arise from the required bonuses and salary increases. An agreement could represent a solution for both the employees and the management of the clinics to eliminate the uncertainties caused by the warning strikes and the canceled negotiations.

It will be exciting to see how developments will develop in the next few days and weeks. The Leipzig Heart Center has already established itself as a venue for the demands of the employees, and the warning strike will certainly not be the last step in this ongoing collective bargaining dispute. We will continue to monitor the situation.