POTSDAM, Germany (MNI) – German public sector employers and trade
unions on Wednesday made no substantial progress towards an agreement on
pay rises for some two million federal and local government employees.
The employers have not yet improved their pay offer and key
questions have not been discussed yet, Verdi trade union leader Frank
Bsirske said after several hours of negotiations.
Pay talks are to continue on Thursday, Bsirske said. Verdi has
threatened full-blown strikes if there is no agreement reached at the
third negotiation round this Wednesday and Thursday.
However, employers are expected to call for a mediation process if
no agreement is reached this week. That would circumvent the strikes,
which are not allowed during mediation.
This would mean that full-blown strikes likely would not start
until the end of April or beginning of May, a union official said.
Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said at the start of the
talks today that he is “optimistic” an agreement can be reached this
Wednesday or Thursday.
Verdi sees a “fifty-fifty chance” that a pay deal will be struck at
the third negotiation round, Bsirske said at the start of the talks.
Verdi and smaller public sector unions are demanding a pay rise of
6.5% and a 12-month contract duration.
Employers are proposing a 2.1% pay rise from May 1 this year and
another 1.2% hike from March 1, 2013. In addition, they are offering a
E200 one-off payment. The employers want a contract duration of 24
months.
–Potsdam desk: +49-172 724 77 39; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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