Student workers beware! Collective agreement now! Bring in your demands!
Posted on August 30, 2023 by Frank Elsinga ‐ 10 min read
Dear fellow students, dear student/scientific assistants and tutors (in short: student workers),
We need your help to improve the working conditions of student workers at our university!
How?
Take part in the digital survey of demands for the collective bargaining round at https://www.tarifrebellion.de/Forderungsfindung_tvstud_2023!
Why?
All over Germany, student workers are organising themselves in the TVStud movement [^1] and are demanding the improvement of their working conditions through a collective agreement, fair wages, co-determination rights and an improvement in the duration of their employment contracts - because we are selling ourselves far short!
The recently published study “Young, academic, precarious” [^2] clearly shows what the working conditions of student workers at German universities are like: Wages at minimum wage level, short contract terms and chain contracts, lack of democratic co-determination…. Bad conditions that exist in almost no other area of the working world. It is not without reason that more and more of these jobs remain unfilled. Even compliance with minimum labour standards such as holiday entitlement, continued payment of wages in case of illness or the ban on unpaid overtime are the exception rather than the rule among student workers.
Our trade unions ver.di and GEW have taken up these problems and want to make the improvement of the working conditions of student workers a demand towards the employers in the upcoming collective bargaining round of the public service of the Länder (TV-L) in autumn. Together with them and other groups of public sector workers, we are preparing a collective bargaining movement and - if necessary - go for strike. The prerequisite for this is that many workers move. So now it’s up to you!
Now it depends on you!
If you have not already done so: Take part in the employee survey in paper form at your local TVStud initiative or digitally and forward it to other colleagues.
The demand survey is open to ALL student workers, regardless of employment type and union membership. The only important thing is that you are currently working as a student worker (tutor, assistant without a degree, with a bachelor’s degree, with a master’s degree).
Our target is at least 1,500 student workers taking part in the survey.
Watch out for further announcements. At the end of October and in November, if necessary, we will take to the streets together if negotiations with the employers stall. To keep up to date, join our bavaria-wide und nationwide Telegram groups and keep up to date on Twitter and Instagram (@TVStud_bund).
Do you have more questions about the demand survey?
In the appendix you will find an FAQ that answers the most frequently asked questions. Otherwise, you can always contact your local initiative or .
With your participation, we are a big step closer to a historic event a nationwide collective agreement for student workers (yes, that has never happened before)!
We say:
- No more precarious working conditions!
- No more disrespect for our labour rights!
- Give us the collective agreement!
- Because without us, the university will stand still!
Best Regards
TV Stud München
[^1] TVStud = Tarifvertrag für Studentische Beschäftigte/ Collective agreement for student employees. More info at https://tvstud.de/ [^2] https://www.iaw.uni-bremen.de/archiv/mitteilungen/detail?news=90#news90
Here is the link to your local TV STud initiative: https://t.me/+dCj_ZHo622hiMjEy Instagram: @tvstud_bay, @tvstud_muc
FAQ “What you need to do to strike for a TVStud this fall - and win!”
The fall bargaining round is approaching, and in the meantime, others in the public sector of the states are also taking a run-up to prepare for industrial action in the fall. Here’s a short FAQ on what you can do now to strike for a TVStud in the fall - and win.
Our plan to win is set! Step 1: Become an official demand in the collective bargaining round of the federal states. Step 2: Fight for TVStud in the collective bargaining round
Before negotiations can begin, the demands with which ver.di, as the union conducting the negotiations, can enter into collective bargaining must first be defined. The Federal Collective Bargaining Commission for the Public Sector (BTK öD) will make its final decision on the demands at its meeting on October 11, 2023. ver.di will work with so- called conditional demands. In concrete terms, this means that the areas that show movement in the run-up to the collective bargaining round will also be taken into the collective bargaining round as demands. The fact that we have already used the summer semester for structure-based power building plays into our hands. Because movement means concretely:
- How many 1:1 discussions were held with colleagues?
- How many new union members have been won?
- How many student workers took part in the digital survey of demands?
- How many have signed up as ver.di collective bargaining ambassadors?
Our next milestone is therefore the meeting on the demands resolution of the Federal Collective Bargaining Commission öD on October 11, 2023, or more precisely: September 30.
Until then (and of course beyond!) we want to win as many colleagues as possible for our collective bargaining movement and as union members. As of now, we have already had 1:1 talks with 2,943 colleagues since April. That’s really good preparatory work, which we can now build on and go into the digital survey of demands.
Golden rule number 1: To win, we have to b e many! Because in the end, negotiations can only be as good as the pressure and movement coming from the streets. That’s what you can do now, so that we can go on strike in the fall for a TV deal
…and have not yet participated in the employee survey?
Then it’s time! Take part in the employee survey in paper form at your local TVStud initiative or digitally at https://www.tarifrebellion.de/Forderungsfindung_tvstud_2023! The demand survey is open to ALL student workers, regardless of employment type and union membership. The only important thing is that you are currently working as a student worker and have not yet filled out a paper questionnaire. And become a union member in ver.di (https://www.verdi.de/ueber-uns/mitglied-werden) or in the GEW (https://www.gew.de/mitglied-werden). Because being a union member means having a say and contributing in solidarity to full strike funds! When we are called to strike in the fall, our strike money will also be paid from this fund. So what are you waiting for? In order for your membership to be counted towards the strike resolution, the membership application must be submitted by 30.09.2023 at the latest (however, the entry date can be 01.10.2023). When registering, please indicate that you are a student worker and/or an active member of TVStud.
…and have already participated in the employee survey?
You are great! Then become a union member of ver.di (https://www.verdi.de/ueber-uns/mitglied-werden) or GEW (https://www.gew.de/mitglied-werden) right now. Because being a union member means having a say and contributing in solidarity to full strike funds! When we are called to strike in the fall, our strike money will also be paid from this fund. So what are you waiting for? In order for your membership to be counted towards the demand resolution, the membership application must be submitted to the unions by 30.09.2023 at the latest (however, the entry date can be 01.10.2023). When registering, please indicate that you are a student worker and/or an active member of TVStud.
…and have not yet participated in the employee survey?
Then it’s time! Take part in the employee survey in paper form at your local TVStud initiative or digitally at https://www.tarifrebellion.de/Forderungsfindung_tvstud_2023! The demand survey is open to ALL student workers, regardless of employment type and union membership. The only important thing is that you are currently working as a student worker and have not yet filled out a paper questionnaire. Then register as a collective bargaining ambassador at https://zusammen-geht-mehr.verdi.de/tarifbotschafterinnen (it is not sufficient that you are already registered as a TVStud ambassador)
…and have already participated in the employee survey?
You are great! Then there are two things to do:
- Register as a Tarif Ambassador on https://zusammen-geht-mehr.verdi.de/tarifbotschafterinnen (It is not enough that you are already registered as a TVStud Ambassador).
- Organize yourself and others! Talk to your colleagues about TVStud and conduct the employee survey with them. You can also refer them to the digital demand survey at www.tarifrebellion.de or go through it with them right away.
…and have not yet participated in the employee survey?
Then it’s time! Take part in the employee survey in paper form at your local TVStud initiative or digitally at https://www.tarifrebellion.de/Forderungsfindung_tvstud_2023! The survey is open to ALL student workers, regardless of employment type and union membership. The only important thing is that you are currently working as a student worker and have not yet filled out a paper questionnaire.
…and have already participated in the employee survey?
You are great! Then the following remains to be done: Organize yourself and others! Talk to your colleagues about TVStud and conduct the employee survey with them. You can also refer to the digital demand survey or go through it together with them.
Solidarize now and get involved in organizing. The first step: network with your local TVStud initiative. If you have team meetings before the contract starts (although this is not allowed), this is also a good opportunity to get your future colleagues directly on board and talk to them about TVStud. You can also become a union member before your contract starts and support the struggle of the student employees. Because being a union member means having a say and contributing in solidarity to full strike coffers! So what are you waiting for? Become a member of ver.di (https://www.verdi.de/ueber-uns/mitglied- werden) or GEW (https://www.gew.de/mitglied-werden) now. Please indicate that you are active on TVStud when you register. If you are or will become a member of ver.di, please also register as a collective bargaining ambassador at https://zusammen-geht-mehr.verdi.de/tarifbotschafterinnen (it is not enough that you are already registered as a TVStud ambassador!) and remember to register as a student worker from the start of your contract.
Solidarize and get involved in organizing! Because in the end, our struggle for better working conditions is about nothing less than the struggle for educational justice and adequate funding for universities! And that affects all students. Network with your local TVStud initiative and talk about how the potential strikes in the fall and student protests (e.g. for a fairer BAföG) can be brought together. Good to Know: You can also become a union member and support the struggle of the student workers. Because being a union member means having a say and contributing in solidarity to full strike coffers! So what are you waiting for? Become a member of ver.di (https://www.verdi.de/ueber-uns/mitglied- werden) or GEW (https://www.gew.de/mitglied-werden) now. Please indicate that you are active on TVStud when you register.
Come to our open nationwide meetings! They take place every second Tuesday at 6 p.m., onboarding/collegial counseling already from 5:30 p.m. on. We meet via Zoom: https://ruhr-uni-bochum.zoom.us/s/62496109316?pwd=WEM4aHpMb2RjVms4aDY5ZzVQZWFYUT09 (Meeting-ID: 624 9610 9316)
Die nächsten Termine sind:
- September
- September
Von dort findest Du auch den Weg zu deiner lokalen Initiative. To stay up to date, also sign up as a TVStud Ambassador at https://tvstud.de/mitmachen/tvstud-botschafterin/ and join our nationwide Telegram group. From there you can also find the way to your local initiative.
Du weißt was zu tun ist? Los geht’s! Gemeinsam holen wir uns, was uns zusteht!
