The tariff dispute between the German Post and the Union Verdi escalated. Collective bargaining for around 160,000 Deutsche Post employees failed in February. Verdi is now leading one Ballot about a labor dispute to enforce the collective bargaining demands. A larger wave of strikes is threatening soon – this is likely to be more severe than the previous work stoppages.
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Verdi: Collective bargaining for the postal service failed – major strikes are imminent
The third collective bargaining round between Deutsche Post and the Verdi union ended on Friday, February 10, 2023, without an agreement. The Verdi trade union then declared the negotiations to have failed and announced a strike ballot on a labor dispute.
Verdi negotiator Andrea Kocsis said: “The offer presented by the employers is far from our demands. The employers were not willing to compensate for the employees’ real wage losses.” The employers’ proposal even increases the risk of further real wage losses.
When does the vote on the postal strike begin?
Starting next Monday, February 20, 2023, the Verdi union will hold a vote on whether to call an indefinite strike at the post office. The Verdi members employed by the post office can decide on this until March 8, as the union announced in Berlin on Wednesday. If more than 75 percent of those surveyed reject the postal tariff offer, open-ended industrial action is to be initiated. The last time there was a strike at the post office was in 2015, when spin-off postal parcel companies with lower pay caused resentment.
What was the Swiss Post tariff?
According to its own statements, the Post had offered an increase in all wages and training allowances by a total of 340 euros per month in two stages from the beginning of 2024. This means wage increases of up to 20.3 percent. In addition, all employees and trainees should receive the full tax-free inflation compensation premium of 3,000 euros retrospectively from January 1, 2023 over two years.
Strike at Post and DHL: When exactly will the strike happen?
It depends on the outcome of the ballot when long-term work stoppages will follow after collective bargaining has failed. This runs until March 8, 2023.
Post made billions in profit in 2022
The group expects one in 2022 Record profit of around 8.4 billion euros. “Against this background, our collective bargaining demands are necessary, fair and feasible,” says Verdi negotiator Andrea Kocsis.
Salary: What do postmen & employees earn at the post office?
Post has too few branches
And another problem is currently making headlines at Swiss Post. The post has too few branches in the country. As the Federal Network Agency announced, there are currently in Germany around 140 “unoccupied mandatory locations”. According to an ordinance, there must be at least one post office in every municipality with more than 2,000 inhabitants, and there are further requirements for larger municipalities. Swiss Post does not fulfill this obligation at these locations. In relation to the approximately 13,000 stationary facilities that Post has nationwide, the proportion of 140 unoccupied locations is small. In most cases, branch refers to external partners – such as kiosks or supermarkets that also have a post office.
