University Hospital Staff in Four German Cities to Walk Out Over Pay as Clinics Warn of €600 Million Funding Gap
11.06.2026 - 08:48:57 | boerse-global.de
On June 15 and 16, around 26,000 employees at four university hospitals in Baden-Württemberg will stage a warning strike. The walkouts – at the Freiburg, Heidelberg, Ulm and Tübingen sites – are expected to disrupt routine operations sharply. Non-urgent surgeries and elective procedures face delays, while emergency care will remain fully covered under basic service agreements between the clinics and the Verdi union, the union has confirmed.
The industrial action comes amid a deadlocked pay dispute with the University Clinics Employers’ Association (AGU). Verdi is demanding a 7.5 percent salary increase, with a minimum monthly raise of €320, and a boost of €250 per month for trainees plus a mobility allowance for the Deutschlandticket. So far, the employers have not tabled a single offer, according to the union. In a move that has inflamed tensions, the AGU also terminated the existing tariff contract on rationalisation protection. “We won’t let them take away our right to strike,” said Verdi’s lead negotiator, Jakob Becker. The next round of talks is scheduled for June 17.
Parallel to the wage standoff, a broader political battle over federal health policy is intensifying. On June 10, hospital operators, doctors’ associations and nursing staff protested in Karlsruhe, Ulm and Aalen. Over 300 people gathered in Karlsruhe alone to oppose the planned GKV Contribution Rate Stabilisation Act, which enters its first reading in the Bundestag on June 12. Clinic operators in the state fear annual losses exceeding €600 million if the reform passes. Baden-Württemberg’s Health Minister, Oliver Hildenbrand, has warned of uncontrolled hospital closures and criticised the federal government for shirking financial responsibility.
The science ministries of eight states – including Baden-Württemberg, Berlin and Lower Saxony – also voiced strong concerns in a joint statement. They argue that the proposed cap on reimbursements threatens the economic foundation of university medicine.
On June 12, hospitals plan to escalate the protest under the motto “No Money. No Care.” Symbolic shutdowns are set: the Klinikum Mittelbaden and hospitals in Calw will temporarily close their main entrances to visitors – a stark signal amid an already tense climate.
