With the start of the third round of wage negotiations, dock workers in the north have brought the handling of goods in several ports to a standstill. This is intended to increase the pressure on employers.
With the start of the third round of wage negotiations, employees at several seaports have increased the pressure on employers with another warning strike. In Hamburg alone, according to the Verdi union, they largely brought port and container handling to a standstill from 5 a.m. on Monday. “The port of Hamburg is at a standstill,” said a union spokesman. The same applies to the ports of Brake and Emden in Lower Saxony, as well as to the ports of Bremen and Bremerhaven. Ships are not being processed in the large container terminals.
According to the union, the warning strike, which will take place parallel to the third round of negotiations on Monday and Tuesday, should last between 24 and 48 hours, depending on the location. With a collective agreement running for twelve months, Verdi is demanding, among other things, an increase in hourly wages of three euros retroactively to June 1, as well as a corresponding increase in shift allowances.
The Central Association of German Seaport Operators has so far offered a wage increase of 2.5 percent, or at least 60 cents more per hour, as of June 1. Shift allowances are therefore to increase by 24 cents to 2.50 euros.
Source: Stern
