The Virchow nurses are upset. You will be asked to pay properly for parking Photo: Ralf Gunther
By Sara Orlos Fernandes
Nurse Claudia Kluge (50) parks on Sylter Strasse every day and begins her shift in the intensive care unit at the Virchow Clinic. Until now …
Because in future the parking spaces will be managed here, the parking ticket machines are already in place. Charité employees were granted an exemption, but the district office is now rejecting their applications.
Many nurses cannot afford the fees. Parking in zone 77 will cost two euros per hour. That’s 60 euros per shift, and a whopping 240 euros for a five-day week!
Parking spaces around the Charité campus in Virchow are now subject to a fee Photo: picture alliance / picture agency-o
“We were applauded during the pandemic, wage increases were promised and now we, who save lives, are supposed to pay for parking at work,” complains the 50-year-old.
The employees are particularly upset about the broken promise of the Senate administration. In May there was talk of exemptions from parking fees for shift workers in state-owned hospitals.
Nevertheless, the Mitte district office has so far rejected all applications from Virchow employees for an exemption. Reason: The grant is only “possible in the presence of a special exceptional situation”. For example, shifts start before 5:30 a.m. or end after 12:30 a.m. The shift system at the Charité is not sufficient for this.
The incomprehension of the nursing staff is great. Some of them have already requested interim references. “People will quit without end,” Kluge and her colleagues are certain.
Her warning: “In view of the shortage of nursing staff, the Senate cannot afford to let staff go.” The Transport Senate Administration did not comment on the BZ request.