Thursday, 5 December
Union calls for warning strikes at Berlin schools
Berlin parents should brace themselves for disruptions this Thursday as the GEW union calls for a citywide school strike. While civil servant teachers are barred from participating, employed educators, social workers, and psychologists have been urged to join the protest. Childcare staff in all-day programs are also set to strike, responding to complaints about being left to oversee children during previous strikes.
At the heart of the strike is the demand for a collective agreement aimed at reducing classroom sizes and bolstering support staff to address chronic overworking in Berlin schools. The union warns that austerity measures proposed by Berlin’s CDU-SPD coalition could worsen conditions for both students and staff.
The Berlin Senate has refused to negotiate, citing the fact that Berlin is a member of the Collective Bargaining Association of the States (TdL), which opposes such contracts. Still, the GEW presses on, staging a demonstration outside the Abgeordnetenhaus. Although the left-wing opposition sought to spotlight the government’s austerity plans and their feared effects, debates will instead focus on how to accelerate housing construction.
For now, education workers say they’re left juggling systemic neglect with growing workloads – a battle that they refuse to fight themselves.
