Charité Doctors Declare Strike Readiness in Pay Dispute

The Marburger Bund physicians' union polled its members at Berlin's state-owned Charité university hospital on their willingness to strike, and a spokesperson confirmed the results to the Tagesspiegel. Some 89 percent of respondents said they would join a warning strike — a limited work stoppage covering only certain shifts — while nearly 81 percent said they would take part in an unlimited strike if it came to that. The spokesperson did not reveal how many members participated in the survey.

The union is demanding an 8 percent salary increase along with higher allowances for night, weekend, and public-holiday shifts. Marburger Bund regional chief Peter Bobbert has argued that these demands simply match terms already agreed at other university hospitals without strikes being necessary. Management's most recent offer stands at 3.7 percent over a 28-month period. An entry-level junior doctor currently earns around €5,800 gross per month. Around two-thirds of the Charité's roughly 3,000 doctors are thought to be Marburger Bund members. Negotiators from both sides are due to meet again this week.

The Charité is also under separate pressure from nursing staff. Verdi, which represents mostly non-medical employees, is simultaneously running its own strike ballot after the hospital board terminated a staffing-relief collective agreement. Under Verdi's rules, at least 75 percent of organised members in a given workplace must vote in favour before unlimited industrial action can be called. Results are expected on Friday.

The hospital recorded a deficit of 64 million euros for 2025, a gap expected to worsen with federal hospital reform, and Berlin's budget constraints limit the prospect of government support in the near term.