expect us

A very early start to catch the U Bahn at 5.20 to CVK to catch the bus to Potsdam at 6.30 to join the mega strike. Luckily for me only the railways and S Bahn was on strike, buses, trams and the U Bahn were still running in Berlin and I could make it to the protest.

Both my union verdi and the railway union EVG happen to be in an industrial dispute over the usual stuff: the employers are offering pay deals well below inflation. This is after last year's meagre pay deal. Both unions demand similar deals: 500 Euro or 10.5%. Unlike in Britain where this is not allowed, the unions decided to go on strike together for maximum impact. verdi is the public sector union and includes a wide variety of sectors, bins, hospitals, nurseries, transport, etc. When we were on strike on Friday, there was chart of how many beds were closed in each ward. It makes a huge difference when withdrawing your labours means there are some real implications. I guess I just get to go along for the ride and will catch up with anything that didn't get done over the two days.

The rally was near the hotel where the 3rd round of negotiations are taking place. Apart from the two unions in industrial dispute there were also members of the police union (GdP) and the teachers (GEW). I am not sure if they are also officially in dispute. They are certainly affected by the same issues. The speeches were great. This year verdi gained 60,000 new members, 20,000 of whom are in the youth section. Like in the UK inflation is eating away salaries, many places are understaffed, more work is expected of fewer people. No wonder it is difficult to attract new people. Germany is heading in the same direction as the UK, only that the UK is ahead of Germany by two decades or so. 

The rally was very loud. Most people had whistles or wee plastic trumpets, some had big air horns. A police van that drove past us used their PA system to announce that today wasn't a work day but a strike day. Before the rally started we were supplied with sandwiches and coffee. After the speeches we marched into Potsdam, along one of the main roads blocking one direction. There were lots more people outside the St Nikolai church at the Old Market. I missed the final set of speeches since I had to catch the bus back into Berlin.

I have the suspicion that this won't be my last strike. 

More pictures from the rally on flickr.