First nationwide joint industrial action by artists' unions at theaters!

GDBA and BFFS call for work stoppage at German theaters on Tuesday, March 18

Press Release

Berlin/Hamburg, March 17, 2025 - The artists' unions GDBA and BFFS are calling on NV Bühne employees at municipal, regional and state theaters to take part in a nationwide walkout. This strike will take place from 11:30 to 12:00 in front of the affected stages.

The trade unions Vereinigung deutscher Opern- und Tanzensembles (VdO) and unisono Deutsche Musik und Orchestervereinigung will also be calling for solidarity strikes. This is the first time that the four unions have jointly called for strikes for improved working conditions.

The reason for this is the next round of negotiations on March 19 and 20 in Berlin. With this industrial action, the artists' unions want to lend more weight to their demands for relief and predictable working conditions.

The trade unions believe that the following demands in particular have not yet been met:

• Five hours rest before the performance
• Binding weekly plans
• 39-hour week with full pay compensation for employees in the special stage technology scheme for the 2025/26 season
• Compensation regulations for overtime
• Regulations for overtime pay

"It is legitimate to emphasize demands through strikes, even if this has been a tool that we have not used until now. Our industry will have to get used to this," explains Lisa Jopt, Managing President of GDBA.

"We now need a decisive signal from the employers' side and expect an appropriate offer that takes our demands into account and enables a prompt collective bargaining agreement," adds Heinrich Schafmeister, BFFS collective bargaining representative.