Cancellation of amateur football matches: Association remains relaxed
The Hamburg Football Association (HFV) remains relaxed despite the numerous impending match cancellations in Hamburg amateur soccer over the weekend. "We want to take our time on Monday to get an idea of the situation," HFV president Christian Okun told the German Press Agency on Saturday. Following the second round of collective bargaining for the public sector in the federal states, which was unsuccessful, the Verdi union had announced the first warning strikes for the weekend in Hamburg. The city's sports field attendants are to strike on both Saturday and Sunday.
However, only municipal sports grounds are affected. There are also numerous pitches that are managed by the clubs, explained Okun. The HFV had stated in a press release that there were sufficient make-up match days in the fixture calendar.
The unions are demanding 10.5 percent more income, but at least 500 euros more. Junior staff are to receive 200 euros more. The wage agreement is to run for twelve months. For Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen, the unions are demanding a monthly city-state bonus of 300 euros. The demands thus tie in with the wage agreement reached in April of this year for the federal government and local authorities. The Tarifgemeinschaft deutscher Länder (TdL) had made it clear that it considered the demands to be far too high and unaffordable. The third round of negotiations has been agreed for December 7.
The Verdi union's announced strikes over wage demands could potentially disrupt professional-level soccer matches in Hamburg as well, if trade unions in the soccer industry decide to join the action. Due to the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations and potential tariffs on sports facility maintenance, soccer clubs in Hamburg might need to consider alternative venues or reschedule matches to avoid disruptions.
Source: www.dpa.com
