Following the public transport stoppage affecting BVG services on Monday, the Verdi trade union announced a series of warning strikes for public sector employees which will affect Berlin residents this week.
Vital services including water and waste removal as well as hospital care may all be affected, although core functions are expected to be maintained.
Various public institutions will be affected by the two-day warning strike which is set to take place on Thursday and Friday (February 13th and 14th).
The industrial action is part of a larger nationwide collective bargaining period for public sector employees in municipalities. Last week several strikes affecting public services took place across Germany.
Here are the strikes that will impact life in Berlin later this week.
Walk-outs at health clinics and hospitals
The nursing staff at Charité and Vivantes, which operate most of Berlin's medical clinics, are striking.
Those working directly with sick and seriously ill people will remain on duty. But outpatients with non-emergency operations scheduled for Thursday or Friday may see their appointments delayed.
"The Charité will have to postpone non-urgent procedures. We regret this and ask for your understanding," Charité spokesman Markus Heggen told Tagesspiegel.
Critical operations - such as for organ transplants, or procedures on children and stroke or heart attack victims - will be prioritised, whereas patients with less urgent operations may expect a call to reschedule.
In total, some 500 to 600 medical staff are expected to participate in the strike.
Water and waste disposal services
Staff at Berliner Wasserbetriebe (BWB), the municipal water company, are also set to strike.
But emergency service agreements are in place to ensure that the water in your flat will continue running.
Control centres and other necessary functions will continue to be staffed, including pumping stations and sewage treatment plants which are largely automated. Whereas departments that prepare tenders or plan future construction projects may be affected.
However, a staff strike at BSR, which manages Berlin's waste removal services, is expected to have a noticeable impact on residents.
According to Verdi, the strike will be most noticeable in garbage collection and street cleaning. For two days, the black bins for mixed garbage will not be emptied in many places, as well as wastepaper bins on the streets.
Swimming pools
Some of Berlin's indoor swimming pools may remain closed, or only open for a half-day, during the strike action.
Keeping each of Berlin's pools open depends on relatively few lifeguard staff, and they have traditionally been very willing to strike.
READ ALSO: Topless swimming fails to take off at Hamburg's public pools
Job Centre
Work stoppages at Berlin's Job Centres are not expected to result in many customer appointments being cancelled, but it will slow down the number of files that are processed during strike days.
Lutz Mania, head of the Jobcenter Mitte, told Tagesspiegel that he does not expect Job Centre locations to close.
During previous strikes only a small portion of Job Centre employees stopped work.
Why are public sector employees striking?
As is very often the case, employees who members of the Verdi union are striking primarily for better wages.
Verdi regional district manager Andrea Kühnemann justifies the strike with the ongoing increases in living costs, which has resulted in real wage losses in recent years.
The union is demanding a pay increase of eight percent, or at least €350 per month for affected employees.
In addition, it's asking for training allowances to increase by €200 and for employees to receive three additional days off.
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