Ahead of the third round of collective bargaining for the public sector, employees in several federal states walked down their jobs on Wednesday. They followed a nationwide call for strikes, including for hospitals, psychiatric clinics, nursing homes and the emergency services, as announced by the Verdi union. Negotiations are being made for around 2.5 million federal and local employees nationwide.

According to Verdi, the warning strikes in several clinics in Hamburg and Kiel began with the beginning of the morning shift. In Bavaria, too, clinics and savings banks remained closed, and further warning strikes in clinics are planned there on Thursday. In Lower Saxony and Hesse, according to Verdi, the focus was also on clinics. In Lower Saxony, other areas of public service were also affected, such as daycare centers.

It was similar in North Rhine-Westphalia. Healthcare workers there laid down their jobs on Wednesday. According to Verdi, local transport in Düsseldorf will be on strike all day on Thursday. Local transport in Cologne will be affected next Monday and Tuesday, according to the Cologne transport company. For Friday, the union in Cologne is also calling for daycare centers to go on warning strikes, as the city announced.

The union demands 10.5 percent more wages, but at least 500 euros more per month. The employer side has so far offered 5 percent in two steps and one-off payments of 2500 euros. The third round of negotiations is scheduled for March 27-29 in Potsdam.