Verdi Calls for 'Hospital Uprising' as Thousands Protest Healthcare Austerity Package

The draft law, which is now going to the Bundestag, also includes higher co-payments for medications and restrictions on free co-insurance of spouses. Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) is spearheading the proposed spending brakes.

Union Leaders Warn of Overwork

At the Charité hospital in Berlin, DGB chairwoman Yasmin Fahimi addressed staff at a meeting. She sharply criticized the government's plan.

"Das, was jetzt vorgeschlagen ist, ist ein Rotstift, der insbesondere aber auch die Beschäftigten in den Krankenhäusern wieder in eine massive Überlastung treiben wird," Fahimi said, warning that the proposed austerity will drive hospital staff into massive overwork.

Fahimi added that the draft is nothing but a cuts program. "Es hat mit einer Reform nichts zu tun," she stated, expressing disappointment that more had not been learned from the coronavirus pandemic.

"Jetzt wird eine Rolle rückwärts gemacht - zulasten aller, die im Gesundheitssystem eigentlich gute Arbeit leisten möchten," Fahimi said, arguing the move is a step backwards for everyone trying to do good work in the health system.

Voices from the Hospital Floor

In Viersen, at the LVR-Klinikum, nurse Sara Verbeek joined the protest. Verbeek, who has worked at the clinic since 2016 and qualified as a nurse in 2019, said the central message of the action was clear.

"Ohne uns gibt es keine Versorgung," Verbeek stated, emphasizing that without staff there is no patient care. She expressed deep concern about the future of her profession.

In the Prignitz district, local officials joined the criticism. District Administrator Christian Müller (SPD) described the situation as a financing paradox.

"Die Krankenhausreform sollte Kliniken eigentlich vom wirtschaftlichen Druck entlasten. Doch der neue Gesetzesentwurf bewirkt genau das Gegenteil," Müller said. He questioned how clinics can implement reform measures when the draft law removes the financial basis for the transformation process.

A Financing Paradox

"Wie sollen die Kliniken die Reform-Maßnahmen umsetzen, wenn ihnen mit diesem Gesetzesentwurf jegliche finanzielle Grundlage für den Transformierungsprozess genommen wird," Müller added.

Verdi argues that the politics leave the 1.4 million clinic employees out in the cold. The union maintains that the spending brakes contradict the goals of a planned hospital reform intended to relieve economic pressure on clinics.

Further protest actions were reported at Elbe-Elster-Klinikum Finsterwalde, Krankenhaus Beeskow, Sana Krankenhäuser in Templin and Berlin-Lichtenberg, and Kreis-Krankenhaus Prignitz. The draft law now faces parliamentary debate.