This tariff dispute has the potential to escalate

The fronts are unclear

Lucas Krentel, ver.di’s regional department head for culture in Berlin-Brandenburg, is at the microphone and calls out to the theater employees: “Berlin’s austerity policy must not be carried out on your backs!” Lots of applause. The question remains: what exactly is this about?

Normally, labor disputes are a straightforward matter. The unions are demanding higher wages. The employer side is trying to suppress the demands. In the case of the warning strike, which is being organized here in the January cold, the fronts are not so clear.

Ver.di is demanding seven percent more wages

This is not about bosses versus subordinates. It’s about alleged details in a collective bargaining dispute that has the potential to escalate – even though the interests of everyone involved are actually not far apart. In the worst case scenario, premieres at Lehniner Platz could soon have to be canceled.

The ver.di union and the collective bargaining community of the states are currently negotiating a new contract, the so-called TV-L. This then applies to all public employees in the federal states, including employees of the state-owned theaters. In Berlin these include the DT, the Volksbühne, the Gorki Theater and the Parkaue. The TV-L applies to all commercial employees and administration; artistic areas such as acting or directing fall under different regulations.

Ver.di is currently demanding seven percent more wages. It is to be expected that the degree will be somewhat lower. The TVöD, the collective agreement for federal and local government employees, had already been negotiated beforehand. This provides for a wage increase of 5.8 percent for two years.

Experience shows that the TV-L agreements are of a similar magnitude. So far, so bureaucratic. But why did the union choose the forecourt of the Schaubühne for its protest action – and why did it say in a press release that the collective bargaining situation at this building was “particularly precarious”?

The special feature of the Schaubühne

This leads to a special feature of the Schaubühne with its around 240 employees: it is not a state-owned theater. But a non-profit, privately owned GmbH. She does receive money from the Cultural Senate. But it is not bound to Berlin’s collective bargaining agreements. Instead, it has its own collective agreements for all areas, which are negotiated separately. Does this mean that dumping wages are being paid at Lehniner Platz? Not at all. The fee corresponds exactly to the TV-L level. There are deviations in details such as vacation days or capital city allowance.

“We can’t afford to pay less than other companies if we don’t want to lose our employees,” emphasizes Tobias Veit, managing director of the Schaubühne.

What Veit also underlines: As soon as the TV-L is negotiated – probably in mid or late February 2026 – the Schaubühne will increase its wages accordingly. He also signaled this to ver.di. Despite the precarious budget situation, Berlin has made additional funds available for tariff increases. The Schaubühne does not have to get the money from the artistic budget or from elsewhere. So what is being argued about?

Here the devil is in the details. The ver.di union demands that the Schaubühne should automatically adopt collective bargaining agreements from the TV-L – not only after its own negotiations with the workforce. “Especially in view of the massive cuts by the Berlin Senate, there is great uncertainty among the employees of the Berlin theaters. This makes a binding and reliable collective bargaining agreement at the Schaubühne all the more important,” ver.di man Krentel said in a press release. That sounds understandable.

Tobias Veit, on the other hand, says: “As a private theater, we are responsible for running our theater economically. Retaining autonomy through collective agreements is an important point.” That also makes sense. What if Berlin doesn’t cover tariff increases?

That’s not a far-fetched thought in a city with cash-strapped budgets and ongoing debates about cuts. Who knows what the future will bring? And: Parliamentarians are still responsible for the budget. They will be careful not to give any guarantees for the next ten or 20 years.

What if samples fail?

However, the truth is also: The Berliner Ensemble – also a private theater GmbH – has in-house collective agreements that are firmly tied to the TV-L. There you run the risk of having to raise wages yourself in case of doubt. From reserves. Or the current budget. However, it is also understandable if a house decides differently based on its own financial situation. But this is exactly why the fronts at the Schaubühne could now harden.

The actual negotiations with the workforce, a large proportion of which is unionized, are still pending. But what if there was actually a longer strike after the warning strike? For example, if rehearsals are canceled, premieres may also have to be postponed.

Michael Thalheimer is currently working on “Salome”, Thomas Ostermeier is rehearsing Molière’s “The Miser” with Lars Eidinger in the title role. Actresses have follow-up commitments and not every premiere can easily be postponed. Eidinger, for example, will travel to Hollywood immediately after the planned Molière production to play the villain in the new “Superman” film.

In any case, on Monday evening, while there are demonstrations outside, he is still on stage as “Hamlet”. The performance takes place. Despite warning strikes.