Universities brace for protests and potential disruptions
Germany's trade unions have shifted their focus to the university sector, escalating wage disputes that could result in warning strikes and demonstrations. Beginning Monday, more than 15 universities in North Rhine-Westphalia will experience all-day strikes, aiming to emphasize the demand for substantial salary increases for professors and non-academic staff. These actions are expected to affect various services, including university administration and building management, potentially disrupting daily operations.
While civil servants like professors are exempted from the wage dispute, employee groups in over 50 cities across Germany are urged to partake in the protests. Proposed demonstrations include cooperation between trade unions and university organizations in Bochum, Cologne, Münster, and Bielefeld, among other locations, under the unifying slogan "Put an end to precarious science."
A significant point of contention for the unions is the inclusion of more than 300,000 student assistants in the collective agreement. At present, student employees who serve as tutors and perform other roles at universities lack regulated working conditions. More prominent demands include addressing the common practice of offering fixed-term contracts to young academics, causing instability and uncertainty in their careers.
The collective bargaining dispute in the federal states' public sector covers approximately 1.1 million employees nationwide, with an estimated 1.4 million civil servants likely to be impacted by the outcome. The unions have set a 10.5 percent wage increase as their objective, with a minimum of EUR 500 more for all collective agreement-bound individuals. The unions recently announced a third round of negotiations, scheduled for December 7.
In recent weeks, Verdi advocated for warning strikes in North Rhine-Westphalia's collective bargaining dispute, focusing primarily on university hospital employees. This push for action in the educational sector comes amidst a broader public sector wage dispute in Germany, where unions and employers continue to engage in negotiations while civil servants express concerns over the effectiveness of current representation and remuneration plans.
The demand for student assistants' inclusion in collective agreements, coupled with the potential for strikes by university employees, could cause disruptions in various aspects of education and university operations. Concurrently, the United Kingdom's University and College Union (UCU) faces a wage dispute of its own, as members prepare for a sector-wide strike ballot over pay and job cuts. Meanwhile, the German University of Hamburg has implemented a digital hiring procedure for student employees, regulating their remuneration. The broader context of wage disputes could indirectly affect university operations and student life in Germany, particularly if related sectors like transportation and public services experience strikes or disruptions.
