Information on Rights and Obligations during Industrial Action

Only the union in charge may call a (warning) strike. When a strike has been called, all union members are protected by their union during the industrial action – from (financial) strike support during the strike to legal protection in the event of a dispute.

Yes, the same right to strike applies, based on the Grundgesetz (German Basic Law). 
Anyone who is directly employed by the institution for which the unions have announced a strike is free to go on strike. Anyone who goes on strike can invoke the Grundgesetz (GG) directly. According to article 9 para. 3 sentence 1 of the Basic Law, “The right to form associations to safeguard and improve working and economic conditions shall be guaranteed to every individual and to every occupation or profession” (“freedom of association”).

No, you are not legally required to do so. If trade unions have called a strike and employees join the call, the obligation to work is automatically suspended for the duration of the strike. If there are legal regulations in a company that is on strike concerning the employees' behavioral obligations and the obligation to sign off when leaving the workplace or the premises, these do not apply during strikes!

If you would like to notify your supervisor or colleagues nevertheless, you are welcome to do so. A post-it on your door or PC indicating “I’m at the warning strike” is fine.

Only “keyholders” need to call their supervisor before going on strike to arrange where to drop off their key or who will pick it up so that important keys are accessible while they are away.

No, you are not required to do so for an all-day warning strike. You can simply go straight to the strike. 

The staff council recommends that colleagues with working time recording can, for example, process the time credit via a “Korrekturantrag” (correction request) in the electronic workflow.
Select “nur Textmitteilung” (text only) in the correction request and request the corresponding time credit in the text field with reference to your strike participation.
The same procedure applies to correction requests on paper or in case of written documentation of working hours.

More information on the issue of signing out or “clocking out” when taking part in a strike is available from ver.di (PDF, in German only).

Definitely not! The “Maßregelungsverbot” (prohibition of reprimands) applies, since you are exercising your fundamental rights according to art. 9 para. 3 GG. A strike called by the trade unions is always a legitimate strike. So you are definitely on the safe side.

Any disadvantages due to participation in a (warning) strike are unlawful and void.

Your employer may reduce your salary by the amount for that day.

Yes, union members are eligible for strike pay for an all-day (warning) strike. To receive this, you must register at the strike location. Anyone who joins ver.di or GEW on the day of the strike can also receive strike pay. This requires joining the union at the strike location.

This is also prohibited as a logical consequence. Offsetting lost hours against credit hours would only be possible if you did not work despite an obligation to work, for example when taking “comp days.” However, this is not the case during a strike, because the obligation to work is suspended.

Unfortunately not. They can, however, take time off or use up overtime if they wish to stand in solidarity with their colleagues.

Outside of vocational school classes, all trainees are allowed to participate in a (warning) strike.

In the field of science, this never actually happens. If your boss comes up with the idea of forcing you to do “emergency work”, you can ignore this. Work that is absolutely necessary can be exempted from the strike in order to avoid irreversible damage, but the parties on strike, i.e., the employers and unions, must negotiate this in advance in an “emergency duty agreement” and those affected are notified. A unilateral arrangement is out of the question.

During a strike, the employment relationship is suspended, and strike participants withhold their work performance from their employer. This is also possible from the home office, of course.

Every employee has the right to participate in strike actions and protest rallies during the (warning) strike. All colleagues should make use of this right in order to spread the word about the demands to a broader public.
Other colleagues as well as any strikebreakers may be approached at any time in order to win them over to the industrial action and its objectives.

If any problems arise with the police during protest rallies/strike actions, only the local union industrial action management is responsible and the police should be referred to them. You are not obliged to provide any information on the issue – the only information you may be required to provide is personal details.

If necessary, union members receive competent legal protection.