Verdi wanted to bring the supermarket chains Lidl and Kaufland into focus with warning strikes. Collective bargaining is making little progress. According to the companies, the effects are manageable.
According to the supermarket chains, the warning strikes by the Verdi union at Lidl and Kaufland have no restrictions for consumers. “There are no restrictions for customers nationwide,” said a Lidl spokeswoman. The availability of goods is ensured.
“The branches are open regularly so that customers can make their purchases as usual,” said Kaufland. Kaufland employees took part in the warning strikes at some locations. Strike action is a legitimate opportunity for workers to express their demands and Kaufland respects participation.
Verdi called on retail and wholesale workers to go on warning strikes in the week before Easter. Today the union wants to take a look at the supermarket chains of the Schwarz Group, which includes Lidl and Kaufland. Edeka and Rewe were affected in previous campaign weeks.
In the morning, the union was initially unable to provide any information about the specific effects or participation. In the past, labor disputes have resulted in empty shelves here and there. As a rule, there were no store closures.
This is being negotiated
Collective bargaining for the approximately five million retail workers has made little progress for months. Even numerous warning strikes could not change the messy situation. Among other things, Verdi is demanding at least 2.50 euros more per hour in retail in all regions for a term of one year.
“As employers, we presented an offer in the first round of negotiations in Baden-Württemberg almost a year ago and improved it three more times during the further course of the collective bargaining round,” said the collective bargaining manager of the German Trade Association (HDE), Steven Haarke. This offer would have led to real real wage increases, especially since inflation was falling.
Recently, some trading companies, including the Schwarz Group, announced that they would increase wages. The food retailers followed a recommendation from the HDE to voluntarily increase wages before an official collective bargaining agreement and to later offset this against the collective bargaining agreement.
Source: Stern
