Germany’s largest seaports are once again threatened with a standstill – this time even for 48 hours. Warning strikes by the Verdi union have begun again.
In the conflict over the wages of the port workers, warning strikes by the Verdi union have started again in all important North Sea ports.
Early shift employees in Bremen and Bremerhaven have stopped working since 6 a.m., as Verdi district manager Bremen-Northern Lower Saxony, Markus Westermann, told the German Press Agency. The walkouts are scheduled to last until 6:00 a.m. on Saturday.
The warning strike has also begun at the port of Hamburg, said the trade union secretary in the transport and maritime economy department at Verdi Hamburg, Stephan Gastmeier. “The colleagues have taken up their posts.” The strike is also planned until Saturday morning.
This threatens Germany’s largest seaports to come to a standstill again – this time even for 48 hours. The Verdi union has asked workers to stop working by Saturday morning. According to Verdi negotiator Maya Schwiegershausen-Güth, the warning strikes will affect not only Hamburg, by far the largest German seaport, but also Emden, Wilhelmshaven and Brake.
Collective bargaining for around 12,000 employees
Previously, the Central Association of German Seaport Companies (ZDS) and Verdi had not been able to reach a tariff compromise acceptable to both sides in a seventh round of negotiations lasting more than eight hours. Both sides are negotiating for around 12,000 employees in 58 collective bargaining companies in Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Bremen. The port workers had already paralyzed the handling of ships twice in June, most recently on June 23 for 24 hours.
The effects of the warning strike on the handling of container and cargo ships are likely to be significant and the loading and unloading of ships will largely come to a standstill. This will exacerbate the already tense situation with a ship jam on the North Sea and the processes at the quay edges are likely to get even further out of step. ZDS negotiator Ulrike Riedel called the call for a strike “irresponsible” in view of the disrupted supply chains to the detriment of consumers and companies.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
