#WORLD #WORLDWIDE #GERMANY #ANARCHISM #News #Journal #Update - (en) Germany, FAU direkte aktion: SYSTEM TRANSFORMATION RELEVANT INSTEAD OF (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]SYSTEM RELEVANT

 The AG Social and Educational Service of the South Region on the demand for not

only symbolic recognition ---- betrieb & Gesellschaft By: Peter Dreyer - May 21,
2022 ---- End of modesty - daycare centers ready to strike ---- With the
currently running At FAU, we are involved in collective bargaining in social and
educational services, so individuals and a company group are involved in
(participation) strikes. We support the strike and are in solidarity with the
colleagues organized in the DGB, but we think we should go further. ---- In the
social and educational service there have been many different problems for years
that urgently need to be solved. This affects our working conditions, which have
continued to deteriorate during the corona pandemic, as well as the comparatively
poor pay in our industry.

In the social professions, the progressive economization of our work bothers us,
professional standards are falling behind more and more. In addition, there is a
high proportion of temporary positions that do not allow for long-term life
planning, and an often high workload with low staff ratios, which cause
colleagues to burn out. Many of our jobs (such as in socio-pedagogical family
support) require maximum flexibility from us in terms of time and sometimes
cannot be done full-time. A scandal is still the only partial payment of night
on-call duty at the place of action itself (e.g. in homes)! In the day-care
centers we are completely exhausted.

Because of the increasingly demanding and concentrated work, we see an urgent
need for significantly longer annual leave, as has been the case for a long time
in other pedagogical fields of work (e.g. for teachers) and a reduction in
working hours, which left-wing trade unionists have repeatedly demanded for
decades to 30 hours per week with full wage compensation.

NOBODY PAYS THEIR RENT FROM APPLAUSE - EVEN FROM REDUCING REAL WAGE!
The inflation rate in Germany is at an all-time high. In this situation, ver.di
and the GEW recently signed collective agreements - the result is a disaster for
the employees concerned and a de facto wage reduction. So that this doesn't
happen in social and educational services, we have to organize ourselves.

There is no lack of symbolic recognition in social and educational services.
However, there is definitely a lack of real recognition in the form of higher
wages, reduced working hours, better job codes and time for good work that is
geared towards people's needs. However, these resources are essential for a good
social infrastructure, which many people depend on or will depend on. Employees
in social areas are repeatedly referred to as selfless heroes or, most recently,
as "systemically relevant" - an attribution from the outside, which seems like
sheer mockery for many employees when it becomes apparent at the same time where
as a result of the Corona crisis and militarization should also be saved: As so
often in the social sector!
In Freiburg, for example, the local municipal council reduced the preparation
times in the day-care centers (work intensification) and the wage increases were
not passed on to the independent providers of social work (actual real wage
reduction). Pure symbolic recognition here borders on emotional blackmail rather
than helping employees and clients.

In a position paper, the Baden-Württemberg community day calls for the state
government to relax the requirements: "Among other things, the upper limit of 28
children per group should be allowed to be exceeded by up to two children.
Another wish: temporarily undercut the staff ratio of a day care center by up to
20 percent. In addition, not only skilled workers should be considered for
representation".
In other words, if we don't organize ourselves, there will be even more work
intensification! There is no talk of more wages, but of a PR campaign to
whitewash the situation.

Stress at work - union instead of yoga
INSTEAD OF CUTTING THE POOR, CUTTING THE RICH!
In the pandemic, social work is treated as "systemically relevant". But we prefer
to be "relevant to system transformation" in order to overcome the living
conditions that are unacceptable for many people and to unload the costs of the
crisis on the rich.

The frustration and anger about many conditions in the social area is great,
unfortunately the unionization is not yet. Employees in social work and in
education, which are mainly carried out by women, will not be able to hope for
better conditions without organizing themselves and will continue to be
recognized only symbolically.
In the current collective bargaining round and in the coming campaigns, it will
be necessary to make the concept of the company group better known among
colleagues. Active company groups are essential in order to develop real fighting
power in the companies and not only to make demands, but also to enforce them.

In the southern region, the AG Social and Educational Service has created a
leaflet on collective bargaining. fau-sued-sue@fau.org

All images: FAU Freiburg

https://direkteaktion.org/systemtransformationsrelevant/
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