Warning strikes in Baden-Württemberg: the financial sector is paralyzed today!

Warning strikes in Baden-Württemberg: the financial sector is paralyzed today!

Today, June 26, 2025, employees of private insurance companies in Baden-Württemberg are taking part in nationwide warning strikes. This is the fourth all-day warning strike in the region. The aim of the actions is to put pressure on employers before the likely decisive fourth round of negotiations on July 4, 2025. Employers have so far rejected the demands of the ver.di union, which has led to a high level of willingness to strike among employees. What is striking is that more people took part in the strike rallies so far this year than in similar collective bargaining disputes in the past. Frank Hawel, ver.di's industry coordinator, is outraged by the employers' behavior.

The demonstrations are expected in several cities today. In Stuttgart, for example, participants gather at 9:00 a.m. at various meeting points, including Reinsburgstrasse and Feuersee. The rallies then move to the union hall, where a central meeting will take place at 10:15 a.m. Around 600 to 800 participants are expected in Stuttgart. Well-known companies such as Allianz, Generali, WGV, SparkassenVersicherung, Driving Instructor Insurance and Württembergische Versicherung are involved. A similar process is expected in Karlsruhe, where around 350 to 500 strikers are expected at the Württembergische Versicherung meeting point.

Background to collective bargaining

The collective bargaining negotiations between ver.di and the employers' association of private insurance companies (AGV) have stalled. This came after the third round of negotiations at the end of May remained inconclusive. Ver.di is demanding a salary increase of 12 percent and an increase in training allowances of 250 euros as well as further improvements for employees. Ver.di negotiator Martina Grundler also criticizes the fact that the large insurance companies expect employees to lose real wages despite high margins.

The employers have made an offer that provides for a tariff increase of 4.8 percent from August 2025 and 3.3 percent from September 2026 for a period of 28 months. However, this was rejected as insufficient. The original offer included a lower salary increase and a longer term of 35 months; the reduction to 28 months is the only progress AGV made during the round of negotiations.

Aim of the strike action

With today's strike actions, ver.di wants to increase the pressure on employers and create more movement at the negotiating table. Similar campaigns are planned in other cities, including Kiel, Hamburg, Berlin, Hanover, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich. The gathered participants from all over Germany could support the union's strong arguments and thus possibly lead to an early agreement.

In total, over 1,000 strikers are expected at today's rallies across the country. The situation remains tense and both employers and employees are hoping for a solution before the next round of negotiations begins on July 4th. [suedbadenschwarzwald.verdi.de] reports that despite the union's demands, employers have so far found the offers to be inadequate. An intensive discussion about the realization of ver.di's tariff targets is expected in the coming days.

It remains to be seen in the coming weeks whether the strike action will produce tangible results in the upcoming negotiations and whether the more than 1,000 demonstrators can actually have the desired influence on collective bargaining. [versicherungsbote.de] emphasizes that despite the strike measures, the employees are in a strong position and want to raise awareness of the important role of collective bargaining in the insurance sector.