Protests by healthcare employees against the budget reduction plans put forward by Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) to fund statutory health insurance escalated on Thursday. According to the union Verdi, demonstrations and actions are scheduled for today and over the next few days at more than 50 hospitals across the country.
Specific demonstrations took place in Berlin on Thursday. One action, named “Red Cards for Ms. Warken” was held at the Sana-Klinikum Lichtenberg as part of a larger “Hospital Uprising” drawing participation from Ines Schwerdtner, leader of Die Linke. Schwerdtner criticized the federal government, accusing it of wielding the “chainsaw” against healthcare provision. Another event was announced for the Charité in Berlin on Thursday, where DGB Federal Chairwoman Yasmin Fahimi is also expected to speak.
Sylvia Bühler, a federal board member of Verdi, stated that hospital staff are “furious about the spending spree led by the Federal Health Minister, which is primarily going to come at their expense”. She declared, “Their response is the Hospital Uprising”. Bühler believes that Ms. Warken is deliberately jeopardizing the quality of healthcare. According to her, the minister is trying to reverse the progress made in recent years regarding improvements in working conditions within the health sector, while also putting hundreds of thousands of jobs in the industry at risk. Bühler concludes that “this is the opposite of good health policy and calls for our resistance”.
Verdi estimates that the government’s plans would cut nearly 30 billion euros from hospitals by 2030. Furthermore, a study by the HCB Institute suggests these cuts could push almost half of all hospitals into acute insolvency risk. The union fears that the reduced refinancing of tariff increases and bedside care will result in staff reductions among nurses and other professions.
Bühler also warned that the lack of adequate staffing in many clinics could prevent patients from receiving “needs-based” care, and that this situation would “dramatically worsen as a result of the law-up to the endangerment of human lives”. She added that the refusal to fully cover tariff salaries runs counter to the government’s goal of strengthening collective bargaining agreements.
Verdi intends to continue applying pressure on the matter. Among future planned actions is a major public demonstration scheduled for the Health Minister Conference in Hannover on June 10, 2026.
