retail trade
Warning strikes in 19 Galeria branches in three federal states
47 branches are to be closed nationwide. photo
© Peter Kneffel/dpa
The Verdi union has called for all-day warning strikes. Galeria’s board of directors warns of unlawful and ruinous work stoppages.
The Verdi union has called for all-day warning strikes in 19 branches of the insolvent department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof.
All five department stores were on strike in Hamburg, six in Baden-Württemberg and eight in Hesse, according to the state districts of Verdi. According to Verdi, however, the houses will be able to open, albeit with restrictions in the departments.
The background to the protest actions is the restructuring plan for the company approved by the creditors. It provides for the closure of 47 branches nationwide, which means the loss of around 4,000 jobs. Verdi justified the warning strikes with the stuck collective bargaining for the approximately 17,000 employees. Among other things, the union demands the recognition of the regional collective bargaining agreements in the retail sector.
The Galeria board had warned of work stoppages. They would be “obviously illegal” and threatened to cause ruinous damage, it said in a letter to the Verdi leadership, about which “Business Insider” reported.