German doctors stage nationwide strike

Berlin, May 10 (IANS) Doctors at municipal hospitals across Germany staged a strike demanding better pay and working conditions.

Tuesday’s strike was called by Marburger Bund, the trade union for physicians in Germany, reports Xinhua news agency.

Physicians expect a “fair offer that corresponds to their high workload and takes into account the price increases since the last salary increase”, Christian Twardy, negotiator for the Marburger Bund, said in a statement.

Emergency medical care for all patients remained assured, the Marburger Bund stressed.

Hospital doctors in Germany demand retroactive compensation for high inflation as well as a 2.5 per cent wage increase.

After four rounds of negotiations with the Association of Municipal Employers’ Associations (VKA), the collective bargaining negotiations on the salaries of around 60,000 physicians at municipal hospitals are still ongoing.

“We were able to make significant progress in the round of negotiations with the Marburger Bund the week before last,” Wolfgang Heyl, negotiator and chairman of the VKA group committee for hospitals and care facilities, said, criticizing the strikes as “completely unfounded”.