Berlin and Brandenburg
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Employees in pharmaceutical wholesale demonstrated on Wednesday at several locations in Berlin and Brandenburg for higher wages. The Verdi services union had called for the warning strike.
Although the industry was able to increase sales by 5.3 percent last year, Verdi announced in advance that high inflation was a burden on employees. Accordingly, there was “no reasonable offer” from the employer side in a first round of negotiations.
Collective bargaining for around 60,000 workers
Negotiations are currently taking place for a new collective agreement for the approximately 60,000 employees in the wholesale and pharmaceutical wholesale trade in Berlin-Brandenburg. According to the Verdi union, it is demanding 13 percent more wages (at least 400 euros).
Employees in several warehouses of supermarket chains had already stopped work on Tuesday. The Edeka warehouses in Freienbrink and Mittenwalde and a Rewe warehouse in Oranienburg were affected, according to the Verdi union. At a rally in Oranienburg, employees reiterated their demands.
Four companies affected
According to Verdi, in a first round of negotiations last Thursday, the employers offered a four percent wage increase from December 2023 and a 2.1 percent wage increase from December 2024, plus two inflation compensation premiums of 700 euros each in 2023 and 2024.
The warning strike in the pharmaceutical wholesale trade reportedly affected the companies Alliance Healthcare Berlin, Phoenix Pharmahandel Berlin, GEHE Berlin and Sanacorp Potsdam.
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