Wage war
October 19, 2009
The ongoing cleaners' pay dispute between the IG Bau trade union and business leaders from the Trade Guild Association for the Construction Trades (BIV) escalated on Friday when more than 1,000 people attended coordinated protests in the city centers of Dortmund and Cologne.
IG Bau regional chief Juergen Czech called the protest "a final warning shot" before strike threats are realized.
A majority of union members voted for industrial action in a strike ballot, increasing the likelihood that senior-citizens homes, airports and football stadiums in North Rhine Westphalia could go uncleaned this week.
Earning below minimum wage
According to the union, more than 850,000 people are employed as building cleaners in Germany. More than half of them only have part-time contracts that pay 400-euro ($600), which means they are earning less that than the minimum wage for cleaners - currently 8.15 euros in western Germany and 6.58 euros in eastern regions.
Negotiations have been running since January without success. The trade union's obligation not to strike expired at the end of September, as did the employers' obligation to respect the minimum wage. IG Bau had demanded 8.7 percent more pay over a 12-month period. The employers only offered three percent over 21 months.
The BIV, representing the employers, has accused the trade union of bringing the low wages to workers by cancelling their original collective labor contract. According to the association, they had initially offered to raise the minimum wage to 8.39 euros and 6.82 euros.
A BIV statement said IG Bau's current refusal to sit at the negotiating table was endangering the workers' financial security.
"Every day that IG Bau doesn't spend negotiating is a day lost for the workers," said BIV director Johannes Bungart.
bk/dpa/epd
Editor: Sam Edmonds