Intermittent strike action has hit dozens of sectors in Germany since late January, but why are so many workers striking now, what are they demanding, and when are the strikes likely to end?

Warning strikes continue across Germany

In Germany, the first months of 2025 have been shaped by regular warning strikes. Employees working at Kitas, in hospitals, waste collection, water regulation, schools, public transport, Deutsche Post, airports, disability education services, elderly care, swimming pools, theatres, job centres and other public sector positions have all joined multiple strikes.

Industrial action has affected all 16 of Germany’s federal states, but in different ways. Since January, each week has brought a new constellation of strikes across different sectors in different states, lasting anywhere from 12 hours to multiple days.

Why are public sector workers going on strike now?

Employees taking part in the strikes work in the public sector. Most of them, but not all, are represented by ver.di. Ver.di is one of Germany’s largest trade unions, representing around 2,5 million workers in 1.000 different jobs.

As a trade union, part of ver.di’s job is to negotiate collective bargaining agreements (Tarifverträge) on behalf of workers who are trade union members. Collective bargaining agreements are agreements made between unions and employers about employees’ working conditions and wages. Because economic circumstances change, these agreements have a limited validity period, usually a year or slightly more. 

Shortly before an existing agreement is due to expire, trade unions and employers return to the negotiating table. Sometimes, these negotiations go smoothly, and sometimes they enter a gridlock, where employers may accuse unions of making unrealistic demands and union representatives retort that employers are making insufficient offers.

At this point, a trade union may consider calling on workers to strike, to reassert the value of employees' labour and put pressure on employers to make a better offer. This is what happened in January, when ver.di’s regional divisions across the federal states began calling on local public sector workers to strike.

Strikes are often held in the break when a negotiation round between a trade union and employers ends, but before another round begins. In the case of the current public sector strikes, representatives of the German government - which employs public sector workers - and ver.di, are due to return to the negotiating table on March 14 to 16.

What are ver.di demanding from government bosses?

So what are ver.di representatives demanding to be included in the new collective bargaining agreement covering public sector workers?

In this series of negotiations, ver.di’s demands are fairly straightforward and uniform across all sectors. The union is pushing for employees to receive a pay rise of at least 8 percent, or 350 euros a month, and three additional days of holiday leave as part of a collective bargaining agreement lasting 12 months.

Ver.di is making other demands which are more specific to workers in certain sectors, such as paid breaks for hospital shift workers, a 200-euro pay rise for trainees and apprentices and a 38,5 hour week for hospital workers in Baden-Württemberg.

The union argues that public sector employees are significantly underpaid compared to those working in the private sector despite working longer hours, and that inflation is causing real wage losses.

Germany is also facing a worker shortage, existing public sector employees are stretched, with 500.000 jobs unfilled. As a generation of workers moves into retirement, ver.di predicts that around 1 million public sector jobs will be vacant by 2030. The union argues that the government increasing pay and improving working conditions is integral to making public sector work more appealing to potential workers. 

When are the German strikes likely to end?

When the strikes end depends on how negotiations go on March 14 to 16. If discussions are fruitful and both parties come to an agreement, strikes will cease. However, public transport workers in various regions, some of whom are covered by different unions and collective bargaining agreements, may continue intermittent strike action.

If ver.di and government bosses don’t reach an agreement in the coming days, another round of public sector warning strikes will likely be announced, which will punctuate the period leading up to the next round of negotiations. If negotiations run on even further, it is also possible for the union to call an unlimited strike. 

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