Three-day warning strike: Classes cancelled at some schools

At several Berlin schools, classes and exams will be canceled for several days starting this Tuesday.

The GEW union has called on teachers, social education workers and school psychologists to go on a three-day warning strike. In doing so, it wants to underscore its long-standing demand for classes with fewer students. The GEW wants to regulate the numerical ratio of students to teachers and thus the class size at general and vocational schools in a binding collective agreement. In June 2021, the union made the demand for the first time and has been calling for warning strikes ever since.

Approval of the bargaining union of German federal states needed

The Berlin Senate sees no possibility to implement the GEW demand. It points to the shortage of teachers, which currently stands in the way of smaller classes, and above all to the fact that Berlin - like all other federal states except Hesse - is a member of the bargaining union of German federal states (Tarifgemeinschaft deutscher Länder/TdL). Without their consent, Berlin cannot enter into collective bargaining on class sizes - and the TdL rejects such negotiations. Berlin could not go it alone without risking expulsion from the TdL.

Some schools closed completely

There are around 34,000 teachers in Berlin. Many of them are salaried employees and - unlike civil servants - are allowed to go on strike. According to the GEW, between 2,500 and 4,000 teachers took part in the previous warning strikes. From Tuesday to Thursday, similar figures are expected. According to parents, some schools have announced that they will close completely on strike days. In others, classes will be ensured by reorganization. Several schools offer emergency care for students.