Daycare workers in Berlin on Wednesday continued a five-day walkout amid a dispute between the trade union Verdi and employers.

The multi-day ‘warning strike’, which began on Monday, was called by Verdi, which wants to increase pressure on the state to provide a higher educational quality and more relief for workers.

According to a Verdi spokesperson on Wednesday, participation in the walkout has been consistent, with around 3,000 employees taking part each day. 

Multiple rallies organised by the union have been happening each day across the city, including outside the Berlin Senate Department for Education, Youth and Family.

Although emergency care is being provided in some cases, many families are affected by the action.

According to the Senate, just under 10 percent of the roughly 2,900 daycare centres (Kitas) in Berlin belong to so-called municipal-owned companies. Around 7,000 nursery school teachers and other employees look after around 35,000 children there.

The remaining centres are run by independent providers and are currently not on strike. In total, around 165,000 children attend daycare centres in Berlin.

The strike is occurring as the capital grapples with an ongoing shortage of daycare teachers and dissatisfaction over wages.

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‘Slap in the face’

According to Verdi, the Berlin Senate is refusing to enter into negotiations on a collective agreement for educational quality and relief for the daycare centres’ own operations. They want the agreement to include regulations on things like group sizes and balancing workloads better while calling for more staff.

This is a “slap in the face for the striking educational professionals who are fighting to preserve their profession”, says Verdi. 

The Senate says it is rejecting this so far because Berlin is already a member of the Collective Labour Agreement of the German States. According to ministers, Berlin cannot therefore decide alone on these kinds of collective bargaining issues.

“We cannot simply enter into collective bargaining with regional unions,” State Secretary for Youth and Family, Falko Liecke (CDU) told regional broadcaster RBB earlier this week. 

However, Verdi accused the Senate of blocking a constructive solution in the interests of employees, parents and children.

Last Friday, four of the five city-owned companies that operate the Kitas launched a joint online petition entitled “Stop the Berlin daycare centre strikes!”. 

The petition states: “We demand an immediate end to the Berlin daycare strikes by Verdi. Political disputes must no longer be fought on the backs of children, parents and daycare centres.

“The wage demands of Verdi are neither practical nor implementable. They are aimed at the wrong people. The daycare centres are on strike, but they are not the collective bargaining partners. For children and parents, this means great uncertainty, just a few years after the Corona-trauma.”