- According to information from Business Insider, the board of Verdi and the management of Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof (GKK) will meet on Friday to reach an agreement in the dispute over the collective wage agreement.
- Verdi board member Stefanie Nutzberger is pushing for a collective agreement. The GKK bosses countered that there was no money for this in the insolvent company, insiders report. In the event that the negotiations fail, Verdi is already preparing new strikes.
- According to our information, the company is preparing a high-level claim for damages against the union in the background.
On Friday, the bosses of the department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof (GKK) will meet with the board of directors of the Verdi union. The fronts between the two sides have hardened. In the past few weeks, the union has called on GKK employees at numerous locations in Germany to go on strike. Verdi board member Stefanie Nutzberger wants to push through a collective agreement for the employees, the GKK bosses counter that the department store chain is in the middle of bankruptcy and cannot afford the tariff. Insiders say the showdown could take place on Friday.
According to our information, the Galeria bosses are preparing a claim for damages in the background. It’s about the strikes in the past few weeks, which, according to insolvency administrator Arndt Geiwitz and CEO Miguel Müllenbach, were not legal. Two weeks ago, both sent a threatening letter to the Verdi leadership, in which they announced that they would hold the Verdi leadership personally liable for any damage caused during the strike. We reported exclusively.
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At GKK, the claim for damages is being prepared
At GKK, counting is now in the legal department. How much turnover and profit was generated on the days of the strike in the previous year and how much in comparable branches? Were entire floors closed in the struck branches? How many employees are absent? These are the core questions that the GKK lawyers are now dealing with, Business Insider learned from top management circles. In the end, an expensive claim for damages should arise, which the Verdi board of directors may be billed personally.
The GKK bosses are still holding back. They are waiting for Friday, signaling Verdi in the background that they can imagine different collective agreements, just not the one for the area. Insiders report that Verdi is also divided on the question. Member of the Board of Management, Vorteilberger, relies heavily on the area tariff and is hardly willing to compromise in negotiations. On the floor below, however, they show understanding for the situation of the GKK management, which is currently leading the company through bankruptcy.
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The general works council also has no understanding for Verdi’s actions, especially not for the strikes. “You have to doubt the economic expertise of the Verdi leadership if branches are to remain closed in such a precarious situation that we are in,” says a works councillor. According to information, a new wave of strikes is being prepared at Verdi if the talks on Friday fail.
GKK leadership is negotiating with landlords in the background
In the background, the bosses of the department store chain are negotiating with landlords of branches that are on the closure list, we learned from company circles. Maybe it could still be possible to save some shops from the end. In view of the strikes that Verdi is organizing to enforce the collective agreement, the willingness of the landlords to give in to the demands of the GKK leadership is decreasing. Hedge and investment funds from the USA and abroad are said to be behind numerous landlords, where there is little understanding for the German culture of strikes, according to company circles. According to business circles, a new wave of strikes would bury any hope of saving more GKK branches.