Status: 05/20/2023 00:01
The trade union ver.di is calling on employees in the Hamburg retail trade to go on a warning strike today. The reason is a tariff dispute with the retailers. Ver.di demands more money.
Anyone who wants to go shopping today could – like yesterday – find themselves in front of closed doors in some shops in Hamburg. Branches of large food chains such as Netto, Rewe and Kaufland are on strike for the second day in a row, and the furniture store Ikea and the fashion chains Zara and H&M are also affected. According to the trade union ver.di, the strike took place in 20 different branches on the first day of the strike, and 700 men and women took part.
Ver.di: Employees are angry
In the first round of negotiations two weeks ago, the companies had presented the 90,000 employees in the industry with an offer that was not sufficient for the union, said ver.di spokeswoman Heike Lattekamp on NDR 90.3. The employees are “angry about the offer”. It doesn’t even come close to offsetting the rate of inflation. On the other hand, many retailers are also struggling with economic problems.
Demands are far apart
The trade union is demanding 2.50 euros more per hour for the employees, but at least the payment of 13.50 euros per hour. The trainees should get 250 euros more per month. The term of the collective agreement is to be twelve months.
In the first round of negotiations on May 4, the employers offered a pay increase of five percent in two stages over a period of 24 months as well as tax-free special payments totaling 1,000 euros.
Retail association fears wave of bankruptcies
The association fears that around 1,000 Hamburg shops will have to close again in the next one to two years. Collective bargaining will resume on May 22nd.
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