In the course of the deadlocked collective bargaining dispute, the Verdi union has asked the approximately 12,000 employees to stop working for 48 hours at the beginning of the early shift on Thursday. That would mean that the already chaotic situation in global freight traffic could worsen again. Around 20 freighters are currently waiting to be cleared at ports such as Hamburg or Bremerhaven.
The chief negotiator for the employers’ side, the Central Association of German Seaports (ZDS), Ulrike Riedel, said that with every strike more ships were damming up and referred to the supply chains being “extremely strained”. Maya Schwiegershausen-Güth, chief negotiator at Verdi, announced further negotiations with the employers’ side for Wednesday. Verdi is demanding a wage package that would mean a pay increase of 14 percent with a collective agreement term of 12 months.
“There will be no more”
The “final” offer from the employers’ side, which was improved once again, corresponded to an increase of 12.5 percent over a period of 24 months in the sixth and so far last round of negotiations. From June 2023, wages and allowances are to increase again by 3.1 percent according to the ZDS. “More can’t and won’t exist,” said a ZDS spokesman.
Source: Nachrichten
