“But don’t even think of trying an itty-bitty reform with us!”
Healthcare staff protest plan for major cuts – Medical staff in Germany are protesting about cost-saving plans that ministers says are necessary to stop spiraling costs.
German service union Verdi is organizing protests against a round of cuts announced by the German government. The plan is aimed at reducing the burden on health insurance providers that could mean higher contributions.
German union leaders cry.
“He keeps investing in Giga Berlin and creating more jobs!”
Tesla invests $250M more in Giga Berlin battery cells, boosting capacity to 18 GWh – Tesla announced today that it will invest almost $250 million more in battery cell production at its Grünheide factory outside Berlin, more than doubling planned capacity to 18 gigawatt hours per year and creating over 1,500 battery-related jobs…
In late February, Musk sent a pre-recorded video to Grünheide’s roughly 11,000 workers warning that expansion would not happen if IG Metall gained a majority in the upcoming works council election. He said that “things will certainly get more difficult if there are external organizations pushing Tesla in the wrong direction,” adding: “We will not close the factory, but realistically we will also not expand.”
The message was clear: vote for the union, lose the investment.
IG Metall’s vote share subsequently collapsed from 39.4% in 2024 to 31.1% in the March election. Tesla’s management-aligned list, Giga United, took 24 of 37 seats. IG Metall has since filed a legal challenge alleging unlawful interference in the election.
Soon.
Union tries to seize control of works council at Tesla’s German factory – Lawsuits and slander claims fly in IG Metall’s battle with Elon Musk over employment rights and conditions.
Europe’s largest trade union is trying to gain control of the works council at Elon Musk’s Tesla gigafactory near Berlin, in an industrial relations showdown marked by lawsuits and mutual accusations of slander.
The works council, an elected body of employees that negotiates everything from working hours to pay deals with a company’s management, is considered an entrenched aspect of the German corporate world, particularly in the car industry.
But it was a bone of contention at the Tesla plant in Grünheide, about 20 miles (30km) south-east of Berlin, even before the gates opened almost four years ago.
But then it’s right back to the regular 24/7 unplanned chaos.
So chill already.
Germans Face Travel Chaos As Transport Workers To Strike – Public transport workers across Germany will stage a 48-hour strike from Friday as talks over pay and conditions stall, a union said, potentially sparking travel chaos for millions.
The Verdi union, negotiating on behalf of about 100,000 workers, said Tuesday it had decided to ramp up pressure on local authorities after making little progress in annual negotiations.
Public transport is always at a standstill here.
Tens of Thousands of Transport Workers Walk off Job in Germany – Commuters across Germany faced freezing temperatures and empty platforms on Monday as tens of thousands of public transport workers walked off the job in a strike called by trade union Verdi, shutting down bus and tram services in most cities.
Verdi, which represents nearly 100,000 transport workers, called the strike after talks with municipal and state employers over working conditions stalled last week.
It’s better to let sleeping pilots lie. I mean fly.
Almost all German pilots admit to napping during flights in union survey – Pilots’ union says the issue has become a ‘worrying reality’ as a result of staff shortages and operation pressure.
It’s the economic science, stupid.
German union boss urges Berlin to scrap borrowing cap to safeguard economy – IG Metall chair Christiane Benner addresses thousands of VW workers striking over planned closure of several plants.
The head of Germany’s most powerful trade union has called on Berlin to drop its cap on new borrowing to safeguard the future of Europe’s largest economy.
IG Metall chair Christiane Benner said the country should follow the example of the US and China, which are heavily supporting their domestic industries, meaning the borrowing limit had to “stop — immediately, not after the elections”.
That means railway strike.
Pro tip: When you’re the guy giving the order to strike, make sure you catch the last train back to your headquarters in Berlin before the strike begins.
More German of the day: Dumm gelaufen. That means shit happens.
Train drivers’ strike – GDL boss Weselsky misses last train to Berlin.
Claus Weselsky has a problem: due to the train drivers’ strike, the head of the train drivers’ union (GDL) said he missed the last train to Berlin on Tuesday evening.
Courts in Frankfurt rejected the injunction issued by Deutsche Bahn against the strike action on Tuesday evening but after that, things went less well for the union leader, as the hearing lasted longer than initially expected.
But we’re still number one! USA! USA!
85 percent of Germans dissatisfied with the education system, survey reveals – A staggering 85 percent of people are dissatisfied with schools and educational policy in Germany, according to a recent representative survey by the Forsa Institute. 85 percent of survey respondents said that they believed the German education system did not sufficiently equip children and young adults for leaving school.
Pupils’ delayed learning caused by school closures during the coronavirus pandemic was among the biggest concerns for respondents. Recent data from Destatis revealed that the number of children repeating an academic year increased by 67 percent between 2021 to 2022; the academic year 2021 / 22 saw 155.800 pupils retake a year. The survey results also come as Germany reckons with a debilitating teacher shortage, with between 32.000 and 40.000 posts unfilled.
Because none of them will be running.
You know. Glass half full and all that?
Strike over pay paralyzes rail, air travel in Germany – Trains, planes and public transit systems stood still across much of Germany on Monday as labor unions called a major one-day strike over salaries in an effort to win inflation-busting raises for their members.
The 24-hour walkout — one of the biggest in decades — also affected cargo transport by rail and ship, as workers at the country’s ports and waterways joined the strike.
Observing Hermann 