"Thousands of public sector workers took to the streets of Berlin on Thursday in a warning strike to protest against austerity measures and demanding better pay and working conditions. "At the moment, we are seeing some wrong priorities being set in politics. It cannot be that there is unlimited money for rearmament while, at the same time, further cuts are being made in the social sector, social infrastructure, cultural infrastructure, as well as in science and education," a protester said. Footage shows protesters waving flags, holding banners and chanting slogans. Some posters and banner read, 'Education is a right', 'Without us, the city stands still', and 'Berlin needs us and we need more money', among others. "I think it’s wrong not to carry out restructuring," protester Mark said, arguing that redistribution from the top down was not being allowed to take place. According to him, there should be "reasonable taxation of capital income and no possibility for large corporations to evade this responsibility." Another protester, Kristine, linked the demonstration to the timing of the protest, as Berlin’s parliament discusses cuts to social infrastructure in the 2026/27 budget. "It’s always made to seem as if there’s no money at all," she said, adding that when there is political will, "there clearly is money,” pointing to plans to boost defence spending. The strike highlighted growing tensions over budget allocations, with workers linking social spending cuts to increased military expenditure and 'unfair' tax policies."