More money and better working conditions – that’s why educators took to the streets on Wednesday. The trade union ver.di spoke of a successful day.
Around 1,500 educators responded to the ver.di trade union’s call for a strike on Wednesday. Rallies took place all over Rhineland-Palatinate, and numerous daycare centers remained closed.
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In Ludwigshafen, all 36 city daycare centers remained closed. In Mainz, most daycare centers were closed at 53, only nine opened, six of them with limited opening hours. There were demonstrations in several cities; according to the police, around 450 educators took to the streets in Mainz and a little more than 500 in Ludwigshafen. In Mainz they marched through the city center and came together for a rally on Gutenbergplatz.
A central rally was held in Ingelheim for the districts of Mainz-Bingen, Birkenfeld, Bad Kreuznach and parts of the Hunsrück. In Kaiserslautern, around 200 educators took to the streets in the morning.
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The trade union ver.di has again called on educators to strike. In many cities in the west of the Palatinate, the daycare centers are therefore closed.
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In the Trier region and in Saarland, a total of 29 cities and communities with around 130 facilities were affected by the strike, including over 30 day-care centers and all-day schools in Saarbrücken.
Daycare centers in the north of the country too
There were also restrictions in the municipal kindergartens in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate. In Koblenz, educators met in the morning for a demonstration. They marched from the Electoral Palace to a rally on Jesuitenplatz.
The trade union ver.di is satisfied with the participation in the strike. A representative spoke of a “successful day”.
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Educators demonstrated in Mainz at the end of April for better working conditions.
SWR
Daniel Brusch
There had already been a strike in daycare centers in Rhineland-Palatinate last week.
So far no agreement in the tariff dispute
The reason for the nationwide strike and action day is the current collective bargaining dispute with the Association of Municipal Employers’ Associations. No agreement was reached in the two previous rounds of negotiations in February and March.
“The workers have kept the store running during the pandemic.”
Ver.di calls for an improvement in working conditions, measures against the shortage of skilled workers and better pay for employees. Since the beginning of the pandemic would the daycares have “kept the shop running”, said the tariff coordinator at ver.di, Volker Euskirchen. The employees are at the limit. It is therefore unacceptable that the municipal employers’ association shows almost no understanding of the demands.
Educator: Hectic everyday life
The Mainz educator Anne Werner describes everyday life in her day care center in Mainz-Weisenau as hectic, there are many absences due to illness. At times only two carers are available for 40 children. On such days there is hardly any time to deal with the children or simply to answer questions from the little ones. The educator describes dealing with the children as “processing”.
More time required for pedagogical work
Ver.di demands, among other things, preparation and follow-up times so that the specialists have more time for the educational work with the children. There are also opportunities to support interns, a right to further training and financial recognition of their overtime.
Parent representatives in Ludwigshafen call for an end to the strikes
In Ludwigshafen, where all city daycare centers remained closed due to the warning strike on Wednesday, the city parents’ committee has spoken out. A representative said that one sees the need to improve working conditions and pay for daycare staff. However, it is incomprehensible to the parents that each round of negotiations is accompanied by several days of strikes.
The labor dispute is carried out on the backs of the children and parents, especially the mothers, who usually have to help with childcare. Because the city of Ludwigshafen also does not offer any emergency care, this often means professional disadvantages or even loss of income for the women, according to the parent representative.
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The daycare staff in the Palatinate is on strike again on Wednesday for better working conditions and more money. The main victims are working mothers, such as Christin Stock from Ludwigshafen.
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Municipal employers criticize daycare strikes
The third round of collective bargaining will take place on May 16th and 17th in Potsdam. Of the Association of municipal employers criticizes the strikes of the educators so shortly before the collective bargaining talks. Employers’ chief negotiator Karin Welge said both sides agreed in March to draw up proposals to be discussed in mid-May. The call for strikes is disproportionate and puts a strain on parents’ trust in the daycare centers.
From the point of view of the employers, an agreement in the third round of collective bargaining is possible. We are working hard on that. However, Welge rejected a wage increase demanded by the unions. The educational staff in municipal daycare centers are already earning up to ten percent more than those in other social and educational service providers. The employers’ association is also critical of more days off. In view of the shortage of skilled workers, they would only increase the burden on the remaining staff.
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