Charité employee expose strikes-hope for fair wages!

Charité employee expose strikes-hope for fair wages!

Berlin, Deutschland - On May 23, 2025, the employees of the Charité Facility Management (CFM) decided to suspend their current strike. This decision enables negotiations with the CFM management, whereby the CFM and the Charité line made this a condition for an agreement. The talks are scheduled to take place on Monday and Tuesday and aim to develop a step plan for approximation to the payment in the public service and to improve working conditions.

The tariff discussions between the Verdi union and the employer have been running since the beginning of February. Verdi calls for the majority of employees to pay a payment according to the collective agreement for the public service (TVöD), which is also used at the Charité. CFM had originally proposed a salary increase of 18 percent for over three years, which Verdi classified as "unable to consent". An enforcement strike had previously been proclaimed, which should last up to an achievable negotiation result.

background of the strike

Since 2006, the CFM employees have not received any payment according to the TVöD, since health services have been outsourced to a subcontractor to avoid collective payments. This has led to persistent dissatisfaction and social tensions. Despite multiple promises by politicians: Inside, there has been no progress in this matter for years. The employees have currently been on an indefinite strike for weeks, whereby over 600 strikes are counted every day, which has massive effects on the processes.

The Verdi union expresses cautious hopes of an agreement, especially with regard to the conditions of negotiations. Successful payment to the TVöD level would mean a salary increase of up to 40.9 percent, while the CFM argues that an increase of 18 percent over three years is not economically unacceptable. Politics called for a step plan to align wages to improve the situation.

collective agreements in the healthcare system

In German healthcare, collective agreements are concluded by various organizations such as the federal, municipalities, countries and private companies. In this context, the current situation of the CFM workers is particularly problematic, since the tariff regulations have been withheld from them since 2006. From March 2024, new tariff regulations for nursing staff in hospitals will apply that have a significant increase in salaries.

Over the past few years, the healthcare monthly salaries have increased by 26.9 %, while consumer prices rose by 25.6 % in the same period, which underlines the urgency of a positive solution. According to the recent collective agreements that apply to various professional groups in the healthcare system, employees can expect a significant increase in their remuneration, so that an alignment for the CFM employees seems even more necessary.

The negotiations that start next week are eagerly awaited because they could be decisive for the future of around 3,500 CFM. It remains to be seen whether the talks lead to a successful conclusion and the long -lasting conflicts can be solved.