Strikes in retail: Verdi is planning actions until shortly before Christmas

In the last days before Christmas, the Verdi union will be striking retailers nationwide with various actions. In some federal states, such as Berlin, Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, work was stopped in some shops on Wednesday. In Chemnitz, Zwickau and Leipzig, the union has called for industrial action for the entire week, from Monday to Saturday. According to the announcements, the focus is primarily on the large supermarket and discount chains as well as H&M, Ikea and Thalia.

There are plans to strike in Berlin and Brandenburg until Saturday. Warning strikes have been announced in Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania until Thursday, but the union has not yet revealed its plans for the days after.

Impact on Christmas business still unclear

The tariff conflict in retail has been going on for months. Verdi is demanding, among other things, at least 2.50 euros more per hour in retail in all regions and a term of one year. Depending on the federal state, there are additional requirements. At the end of November, representatives met at a top-level meeting at the federal level, which ultimately did not lead to any progress.

Last Friday, the Verdi federal executive board called on retail employees to take strike action between Thursday and Saturday. The regional associations are now planning very differently based on this call. The numerous warning strikes in recent months did not generally lead to branch closures. Here and there shelves in stores remained empty for a long time. It initially remained unclear what effects the actions would have on the days immediately before Christmas.

Various strike actions are also planned in NRW cities

Verdi Hessen is planning a day of action in Frankfurt this Friday (December 22nd). Several hundred strikers from various retail companies such as Rewe, Ikea and Kaufland will then gather in front of the “Frankfurter Rundschau” building, where the workforce is fighting for its own collective agreement. Warning strikes are planned in Lower Saxony and Bremen on Saturday.

Verdi in North Rhine-Westphalia announced that it would turn the pre-Christmas period into strike time with “several thousand retail strikers.” Actions are planned in Bielefeld, Dortmund, Bergisch-Gladbach and Cologne, among others. In Bielefeld, a striking Christmas Grinch will march through the city center with other strikers on Thursday. In Dortmund, H&M employees want to hand out postcards in front of their branch on Friday. Amazon employees from the Werne and Dortmund locations also want to demonstrate in Dortmund.

45 percent of employees earn less than 14 euros

In retail in Germany, 45 percent of employees earn less than 14 euros gross per hour. The industry is therefore “a prime example of wage evasion,” explained left-wing labor market expert Susanne Ferschl on Wednesday. The answer to a parliamentary question from the Left shows that 1.25 million retail employees now receive wages of less than 14 euros. The “Augsburger Allgemeine” first reported.

According to the federal government’s response, the comparatively low pay in retail is primarily due to two reasons. Part-time employees therefore earn noticeably less than full-time employees. The difference is around three euros per hour. Companies with collective bargaining agreements also pay better than companies without. Here the difference is between three and four euros.

Between 2012 and 2022, the proportion of collective bargaining employees in retail fell significantly, according to the federal government’s response. While around 45 percent of employees were protected by collective agreements in 2012, the proportion fell to 26 percent last year. The number of companies subject to collective agreements is also decreasing “at an alarming rate,” explained Ferschl.