Delayed delivery: Thousands of Post workers on strike

Status: 01/20/2023 12:21 p.m

In the collective bargaining dispute at Deutsche Post, thousands of employees in letter and parcel centers across Germany have stopped working. The trade union ver.di had called for nationwide strikes. She demands a 15 percent increase in salary.

The wage dispute between ver.di and Deutsche Post is in full swing. Thousands of Swiss Post employees responded to ver.di’s call: they stopped working and are demonstrating for higher wages. After failed collective bargaining talks, the union had called all employees in letter and parcel centers nationwide to a two-day strike.

ver.di speaks of high participation

In the early morning there were around 2,000 strikers in south-west Germany alone, according to a ver.di spokeswoman for the dpa news agency. A total of almost 4,000 people are expected. At the announced locations, including Freiburg, Lahr, Mannheim, Karlsruhe and Heilbronn, employees took to the streets. Some demonstrated in freezing temperatures during the night.

“Participation was already very good during the night,” reported Thomas Großstück, ver.di spokesman for North Rhine-Westphalia. “A lot of colleagues are participating.”

In Berlin and Brandenburg, the union counted around 300 participants during the night. It is not yet clear how many employees are taking part in the strike nationwide.

Packages are delayed

According to the Post, only parcel distribution centers are on strike. “There will of course be delays due to the sheer volume of packages involved,” a Post spokesman said. Customers should expect the packages to arrive a day or two later. However, the effects differ from region to region.

Union demands 15 percent salary increase

There was no progress in the second round of negotiations for the approximately 160,000 employees. The union demands 15 percent more money for a contract period of one year. The Post board had rejected the demand as unrealistic. Collective bargaining will continue on February 8th and 9th, when the company plans to present an offer.

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