ver.di barred from striking at Weimar Hospital after Protestant Church in Central Germany prevails with HEUKING

HEUKING represented Evangelische Kirche in Mitteldeutschland (KdöR), Diakonisches Werk Evangelischer Kirchen in Mitteldeutschland e.V. and Sophien- und Hufeland-Klinikum gGmbH. On 12 November 2025 the Erfurt Labor Court, in the main proceedings, prohibited the trade union ver.di from carrying out strike action at Sophien- und Hufeland-Klinikum gGmbH (Weimar). The action followed ver.di’s demand that the hospital conclude a collective bargaining agreement and the union’s call for several warning strikes in 2024. Those warning strikes had previously been temporarily prohibited by rulings of the Erfurt Labor Court on 9 October 2024 and 31 July 2025 and by a decision of the Thuringian Regional Labor Court on 11 October 2025. The court ultimately affirmed existing Federal Labor Court case law that church institutions which adhere to collective agreements are not subject to strike action and expressly reaffirmed the constitutionally protected autonomy of churches and their institutions, notwithstanding ver.di’s contention that the balance between the right to strike and church autonomy is evolving. HEUKING represented Evangelische Kirche in Mitteldeutschland (KdöR), Diakonisches Werk Evangelischer Kirchen in Mitteldeutschland e.V. and Sophien- und Hufeland-Klinikum gGmbH with a team composed by: Dr. Utz Andelewski (Partner; Lead, Employment, Berlin), Ann-Kathrin Weber (Employment, Berlin), Dr. Christopher Wiencke (Employment, Berlin).

ver.di barred from striking at Weimar Hospital after Protestant Church in Central Germany prevails with HEUKING

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