The ver.di union is keeping the pressure on Postbank high with further warning strikes ahead of new collective bargaining. Restrictions are therefore expected nationwide from midday up to and including Saturday.
The service union ver.di has once again called on Postbank employees nationwide to go on warning strikes on Friday and Saturday. Ver.di negotiator Jan Duscheck said that company meetings and protests had already taken place in almost all companies on Thursday afternoon. “This means that there will be massive disruptions in the accessibility of Postbank for customers from Thursday to Saturday,” he said. The employees in the call centers are also called on to go on strike.
The union expects a “significantly improved offer from the employer side” in the next round of negotiations, added Duscheck. The negotiations are scheduled to continue on Monday in Frankfurt am Main.
Ver.di is demanding 15.5 percent more money for employees
Ver.di is demanding 15.5 percent more money for around 12,000 employees in the Deutsche Bank Group with a Postbank collective agreement – but at least an increase in salaries of 600 euros. The German Bank Employees Association (DBV) wants to raise 14.5 percent more money for employees of Postbank, Postbank branch sales, PCC Services and BCB.
Due to the announcement of branch closures, Ver.di is also pushing to secure jobs in the long term by extending protection against dismissal until December 31, 2028.
According to the union, the bank is offering five percent more wages from June 1, 2024 and two percent from July 1, 2025, as well as protection against dismissal until June 30, 2026.
Deutsche Bank wants to close 250 Postbank branches
Deutsche Bank wants to close up to 250 of the 550 Postbank branches by mid-2026 and also cut staff. Shortly before Christmas, Deutsche Bank promised that it would not lay off employees for operational reasons in its private customer bank in Germany until the end of September of the current year.
In the second round of collective bargaining on February 26th, according to Ver.di, the employers offered a further extension of protection against dismissal up to and including June 2026 with a total term of the agreement of 29 months, as well as an increase in salaries by five percent from June 2024 and further two percent from July 1, 2025.
Postbank has around twelve million customers. It has been part of Deutsche Bank since 2010.
Christian von Stülpnagel, WDR, tagesschau, March 14, 2024 2:05 p.m