From Der Spiegel: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-trade-unions-demanding-big-pay-increases-after-years-of-restraint-a-876268.html
By Sven Böll and Janko Tietz
January 08, 2013
Frank Bsirske, the head of the Ver.di service workers’ union, gets annoyed when he hears people say that Germany is doing pretty well. “That only applies to the well-off,” he says angrily. “The gap between rich and poor has never been this wide, and never has the middle class felt this threatened.” The union leader is even worried that social conflict could escalate.
His recipe against the erosion of society is hardly surprising: Wages have to go up, and by a significant amount, at that. In the current collective bargaining round, Ver.di is calling for a 6.5-percent pay increase — the highest in years — for German public sector employees.
Bsirske has the support of other unions with his demand for a substantial pay hike. After metalworkers’ union IG Metall fought for improvements in the treatment of temporary workers and more assistance for trainees in the last bargaining round, the union’s main focus in the new round beginning in May will be on money. “Our demand will focus on a decent pay increase,” says IG Metall regional director Meinhard Geiken. Michael Sommer, head of the German Federation of Trade Unions (DGB), is convinced that “the people who keep the country running and generate its wealth deserve to get their fair share.”
Continue reading at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-trade-unions-demanding-big-pay-increases-after-years-of-restraint-a-876268.html
