Warning strike at the Helios Heart Center: 200 employees demand 12% more wages!

Warning strike at the Helios Heart Center: 200 employees demand 12% more wages!

Things will get hot at the Helios Heart Center in Leipzig today, August 12, 2025. Up to 200 employees have come together for a warning strike to fight for better working conditions and, above all, a wage increase of 12 percent. Loud LVZ Verdi union secretary Max Leurle confirmed the large participation and reported that negotiations about better tariffs have been ongoing since the beginning of the year. Three warning strikes have already taken place and further actions, including a demonstration, are planned for tomorrow.

The heart center is not only demanding a salary increase, but also four days of special paid leave for Verdi members and compensation for long-term employees. The employees feel under pressure because salaries at the heart center are around 5 percent below the Helios group collective agreement. Despite the demands, there has so far been no response from management. Clinic spokeswoman Luisa Winkler nevertheless invites Verdi to the next round of negotiations and emphasizes that Helios has offered an attractive package.

Acute dissatisfaction and high expectations

The unrest in the heart center is not limited to current demands. As the Verdi website reported, the ongoing negotiations for a new company collective agreement began in February - so far without satisfactory results. Employers have only offered an increase of 6 percent over a period of 32 months, which has met with strong criticism and frustration from employees. Mathias Brückner, intensive care nurse and member of the collective bargaining committee, calls the increasing tasks and the associated work intensification stressful. He not only demands better salaries, but also the highest level of quality in patient care.

“What kind of conditions are these if our efforts are not rewarded?” asks Brückner. The pressure on the management is growing, and Verdi negotiator Andre Urmann expects significant concessions in the next round of negotiations. Loud Association office Further warning strikes in the healthcare system in Germany are also being planned, which underlines the seriousness of the situation.

Protecting patient care

Despite the strike measures, emergency care will be ensured during the strike by agreed emergency staffing. The concern of the guarantors of patient care is in the foreground. Negotiations are also underway at the St. Georg Hospital for a new collective agreement in nursing, although Verdi has also terminated an old collective agreement here in order to achieve improvements. The core demands at the St. Georg Clinic include a 7 percent increase in wages and an annual special payment of 500 euros or four additional days off.

The pressure is palpable, and the strikers have one goal: fair working conditions and fair pay. There is growing dissatisfaction in the industry over stagnating wages and high workloads. Only if the employers are prepared to respond to the legitimate demands can an amicable solution be found.