Germany - Strike by civil servants - January 31, 2026

The ver.di union is increasing pressure on employers in the public sector. On 29 January, nearly 12,000 education workers took to the streets demanding higher wages. The nationwide "Education Strike Day" took place at five key locations. The Education and Science Workers' Union (GEW) had called for the demonstrations. Those striking included teachers, school social workers, state-employed educators, university lecturers, and student employees. Ver.di is expanding strikes in the public sector of the Länder. The strikes affect approximately 2.2 million employees. Ver.di demands a pay increase of at least € 300. The states' collective bargaining association (TdL) has not submitted a binding offer even after two rounds of negotiations.

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For more information, please contact Paul de Beer or Oana Ciuca, De Burcht (Scientific Bureau for the Dutch Trade Union Movement) p.t.debeer@uva.nl or the Head of communications at the ETUI, Mehmet Koksal mkoksal@etui.org. For previous full issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit https://www.etui.org/Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter or consult the archive with all articles in our database at www.cbnarchive.eu. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org.