GIESSEN/MARBURG (dpa-AFX) - Starting this Tuesday, employees of the University Hospital Giessen and Marburg (UKGM) want to emphasize their demands for more money with work stoppages and a rally. Starting at 6.00 a.m., employees from various non-medical areas, including nursing staff and employees in radiology, therapeutic and technical areas, will go on strike for a limited period, as Verdi trade union secretary Fabian Dzewas-Rehm said. A demonstration is then planned for this Wednesday at the UKGM in Giessen, and the actions are to continue this week until Thursday. As a result, there will be restrictions in hospital operations and scheduled operations, emergency service agreements have been concluded, said Dzewas-Rehm.

A warning strike is also planned for next Monday (February 19) in parallel with the next round of wage negotiations. The union is demanding 11 percent, but at least 600 euros more pay for the approximately 7000 non-medical employees. The UKGM is the third largest university hospital in Germany, according to its own figures. Around 436,000 patients are treated annually at the two sites in 80 clinics with a total of 2,230 beds./csc/DP/zb