Daycare centers and waste collection - warning strikes in Saxony's major cities

In the course of collective bargaining for employees in the public sector, there are further warning strikes, this time in the administrations of two major cities as well as daycare centers and after-school care centers in the state capital. In Leipzig and Chemnitz, the entire municipal sector will be affected on Thursday, said Jörg Förster, spokesman for the Verdi regional district of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. In Leipzig, all of the city's and district's own companies are also taking part, as is the waste disposal service in Chemnitz. Förster assumes that hundreds will take part in the strike. "There are no exact figures on participation."

Kindergartens in Dresden and Leipzig also closed

In Leipzig, around two thirds of nurseries, daycare centers and after-school care centers are closed or temporarily not open, while in Dresden around half of the facilities are closed or temporarily not open, reported a spokesperson for the Education and Science Union (GEW), which has called for the walkouts. The background to this is the inconclusive second round of collective bargaining for the 2.5 million federal and local government employees across Germany.

More attention for security at demonstrations

After the attack in Munich, which left two dead and many injured, demonstrations are being held with restraint as the shock continues to have an effect. The events are rather quiet, "there is no fanfare anywhere", said Verdi spokesperson Förster. More stewards than usual are on duty to provide security, "we are parking cars and trailers in front of central access roads". The shock of Munich is still having an effect. Last week in Munich, a 24-year-old Afghan drove his car into a Verdi demonstration.