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German kindergarten staff to get pay increases after strikes
Jul 27, 2009, 15:42 GMT
Frankfurt - German trade unions and municipalities that run kindergartens on Monday agreed to pay increases and improved inspections to help overworked staff before the stress of the job becomes too much for them.
The settlement came after more than 10 weeks of strikes and demonstrations by kindergarten teachers and minders.
In the nation which devised the kindergarten, parents were outraged by sudden 24-hour closures as the rolling strikes took hold at different locations.
A 41-year-old teacher in Cologne said last month: 'I've been working in a kindergarten for 20 years. Every night it's the same: I'm exhausted and I can't relax with my own kids.
'If our hours and staffing don't improve, I'll collapse.'
Talks on pay rises for the 220,000 staff began in January. A stalemate in May led to the strikes.
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