Union continues to call for right to strike in church organisations

Germany

A hearing in the federal labour court in Erfurt on 20 November was due to consider the question of the right to strike in church organisations. This is a key issue for ver.di members working for the Elisabeth Foundation in Darmstadt. The Foundation is part of the Agaplesion health group which takes advantage of the so-called third way used by church organisations to avoid applying the employment laws that apply in the rest of the economy. Workers at the Elisabeth Foundation are calling for a proper collective agreement, along the lines of the main public sector agreement. Currently they face lower pay rates, no holiday pay and work longer hours than apply in the public sector.
Read more at > ver.di (DE)

More like this

Dec. 09, 2011

Campaign for collective bargaining and right to strike in church organisations

Germany

S
Jul. 15, 2009

Union organises strike against church employers

Germany

The ver.di services union is planning for a further stage of strike action against church employers in September. Around 250 ver.di members in several different church institutions in three different regions took strike action back in May. The union says that church bodies that provide health and social care are trying to use their special constitutional status to pay employees below the sector pay norm. In a specific cases five old people’s homes in Hannover have been sold to a religious foundation that has cut pay to run the homes at a higher profit. So far the religious authorities have

 S
Oct. 07, 2011

Campaign for right to strike for church employees

Germany

The ver.di services union has set up a new website as part of a campaign against church employers, who provide a range of social services and who want to deny their workers the right to strike. Ver.di has been successful in cases taken to regional labour courts over church employees’ right to strike. However, the Synod (parliament) of the Evangelical Church is planning to legislate against strike action in church law. Ver.di is planning a protest demonstration on 4 November in Magdeburg. [Read more at > ver.di (DE)->http://www.verdi.de/themen/nachrichten/++co++cf734d90-effd-11e0-5686

 S