Germany: strike in public services continues but negotiations are suspended

The strikes which are affecting public services in several German Länders since February 6, continued, Tuesday February 21, after the failure of a first top-level negotiation held the day before, in Berlin, between representatives of the German public sector and the services trade union Verdi. A new negotiation at the top level should be held "around March 10" announced a Länder representative, Ralf Stegner, vice-president of Tarifgemeinschaft der Länder (TdL). (Réf. 06164)
Enjoy this article for free while you’re in your trial period
You have access to our content for 1 month.

According to Frank Bsirske, President of Verdi, the discussions which took place on February 20 led to nothing. But the tone of negotiations clearly changed, compared to previous months : “employers apparently understood that they could not dictate an agreement”, said the trade unionist in an interview to the public radio Deutschlandfunk.

Ralf Stegner, vice-president of TdL, was also optimistic: “we met for the first time in months and we negotiated in a reasonable way”, he said.

Verdi is still

Do you have information to share with us?
What you absolutely must read this week
The essential content of the week selected by the editorial team.
See all
The major trends of 2026
New regulations coming into force, economic uncertainty, evolving skills requirements… More than ever, the HR function will play a strategic role within organizations in 2026. mind HR...
Germany: collective bargaining negotiations begin in chemical industry
Collective bargaining talks in Germany’s chemical and pharmaceutical industries are due to open this week, covering nearly 580,000 employees across around 1,700 companies. With the sector facing...
3 February 2026
Argentina: labour law reform debate kicks off
Argentina’s Congress has begun debating President Javier Milei’s highly contentious labour reform package, which includes proposals to scrap overtime pay, curb the right to strike and give...
3 February 2026
France: Uber ordered to pay €1.7 billion for undeclared work
According to the publication Revue21, the employer contributions collection agency (URSSAF) has sent a 142-page document to the ride-hailing platform Uber demanding the sum of €1.7 billion...
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
What readers clicked on the most last month.
What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
Germany: government seeks to facilitate immigration of skilled Indian workers
During a visit to India earlier this week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz addressed the strategic importance of attracting Indian workers to Germany, signing a series of cooperation agreements...
2
France: 2026 budget expected to maintain employer contribution relief
On 19 January 2026, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu decided to invoke Article 49.3 of the Constitution to pass France's 2026 budget without a vote in the National Assembly. Three days...
3
EU: Cyprus unveils its six-month presidency programme
Cyprus has set out its priorities for its six-month presidency of the Council of the EU. On the social front, the centre-right government will focus on the Union of Skills, which aims to boost...
4
Informal economy and slow wage growth hamper decent work, ILO says
The International Labour Organisation published its Employment ans Social Trends 2026 on 14 January. It anticipates unemployment stabilising in 2026 and employment growth of 1%, driven by...