As of: February 8, 2024 10:35 p.m
The one-day warning strike by medical practice staff has ended with an agreement in the month-long collective bargaining dispute: According to the Association of Medical Professionals (vmf), an agreement has been reached with the employer side, the doctors.
However, it is not yet known how much money the approximately 330,000 medical professionals nationwide will earn in outpatient practices in the future. During the round of negotiations in Berlin, the collective bargaining parties agreed “not to announce the result until after the declaration period has ended on February 16th,” it said. The responsible committees still have to approve the outcome of the negotiations.
The vmf had demanded an average of 14.6 percent more salary in the collective bargaining dispute that had been going on since last fall. However, the medical profession had previously only offered young professionals 5.5 percent more money and long-term employees only 0.1 percent more. After the agreement there was talk of “constructive discussions characterized by a willingness to compromise”.
2,000 practice employees stop work for a day
In order to increase the pressure in the negotiations, the association called on the practice staff to go on a warning strike for the first time in its history. According to information, at least 2,000 employees nationwide followed the call and stopped work for a day to demonstrate for more pay and better working conditions.
This resulted in delays in work processes in the affected practices in Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Hamburg. Some doctor’s offices are said to have remained completely closed. Around 200 skilled workers took part in a rally in Hamburg, and there were also protests in Berlin, Stuttgart, Dortmund, Nuremberg and Marburg.
VIDEO: Warning strike by medical assistants for more pay (1 min)
Full attention to every patient
“We are the ones who keep the store running,” says practice manager Jana August from Hamburg.
A medical assistant who took part in the strike is Jana August from Hamburg. The 38-year-old is the manager of a family doctor’s practice in the Altona district and has been working in her profession for 20 years. A normal working day for her can last from eight in the morning to seven in the evening.
The job is varied and she enjoys it, but being the backbone of the practice and keeping an eye on everything is also challenging. After all, every patient deserves full attention: “We take care of each other one at a time, but we cannot divide.” Sometimes you actually have to be everywhere at the same time: at the registration desk, on the phone, at the doctor’s or in the laboratory to take blood.
AUDIO: Specialists in medical practices stop working for the first time (4 min)
Employers’ previous collective bargaining offer was a “slap in the face”
The starting salary according to the tariff for medical assistants is currently around 2,200 euros gross per month. Because she and her colleagues have a lot of responsibility for the day-to-day practice and procedures, Jana August believes that the previous offer to represent the practicing doctors in the collective bargaining dispute was anything but fair and therefore unacceptable – she described it as “a blow in the gut Face. We are the ones who have been there the longest. And we are also the ones who keep the store running.”
Cost increases and inflation are a problem
However, the practice manager did not take part in the warning strike and the main rally in Berlin primarily because of her personal situation, as she said in an interview with NDR Info: “I’m lucky that I have a great boss who says she’ll pay – even if she doesn’t have to – according to the collective bargaining agreement. She even pays more than the collective bargaining agreement and would rather cut her own salary instead of cutting something for us.”
Jana August has now reached the top tariff group. To do this, the single mother of two children had to gain 20 years of professional experience and also completed many further training courses. Nevertheless, the cost increases and inflation are also troubling her: “There were times when I got along well with what I earned. But I notice it now too. And I don’t want to know how they do it, who are really at the lowest tariff level.”
Warning strike apparently brings the desired result
Around 200 medical assistants gathered in Hamburg on Thursday to emphasize their demands.
With the warning strike, the 38-year-old also wanted to fight for more recognition and appreciation for her profession. This goal has been achieved with the collective agreement, at least for the time being. Association President Hannelore König was also satisfied with the warning strike day: “There is public discussion about the MFA’s salary and work situation. This pressure seems to have had an impact on our negotiations.”
Several medical associations such as the Virchowbund also showed solidarity with the strikers. They called on politicians and health insurance companies to compensate for necessary increases in personnel costs accordingly.
Further information
3 Min
Due to a warning strike by practice staff, there may also be restrictions in patient care in medical practices in northern Germany. 3 mins
1 Min
Anna Rüter reports. 1 min
Several medical associations have called for a strike. They want to demonstrate against health policy. (December 27, 2023) more
No answering of telephones, no issuing of prescriptions: Doctors did without their specialists for an hour on Wednesday in protest. (01/11/2023) more
This topic in the program:
NDR Info | News | 02/08/2024 | 9:45 p.m