Several federal states witness doctors demonstrating for increased pay.

Hamburg. Thousands of doctors in municipal clinics demonstrated in several federal states on Tuesday for better pay and working conditions. The Marburger Bund trade union had called for the warning strikes in Brandenburg, Bremen, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein. According to the union, around 4,000 doctors from the Asklepios Klinik St. Georg marched to Gänsemarkt in Hamburg with whistles and posters with inscriptions such as “Good work – good money” and “Overwhelmed – underpaid”, where there was a central final rally.

The Federal President of the Marburg Association, Dr. Susanne Johna, called on the municipal employers to finally submit an offer that appreciates the work of the doctors. “Anyone who thinks they can burden us even more, we say: Not with us!” said Johna. Many clinics are already missing doctors: “Thousands of doctor’s positions are vacant nationwide. If you want enough doctors in the clinics to do their work day and night in the future, then finally make us a sensible offer!” demanded Johna.

There were also walkouts in individual private clinics, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was also affected. The Marburger Bund had offered all clinics an emergency service agreement to ensure emergency medical care for patients. Plannable operations should be postponed.

The Marburger Bund is demanding inflation compensation for the period since the most recent pay increase in autumn 2021 for the 55,000 doctors in the clinics, as well as an additional salary increase of 2.5 percent. The association of municipal employers’ associations had criticized the warning strikes – also because they are currently conducting parallel collective bargaining with the Marburg Association as well as with Verdi and the civil servants’ association dbb. “This brings health care to its limits,” said negotiator Wolfgang Heyl. For March 30, the union has announced further all-day warning strikes in other federal states.