HHLA: Work stoppage at Burchardkai
In protest against the agreed entry of the world's largest container shipping company MSC into the Hamburg port logistics company HHLA, employees have laid down their work. This affects Burchardkai (CTB), which is one of HHLA's three container terminals in Hamburg, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday. Operations there have been suspended. "The Executive Board, management and executives are in close contact with the employees so that the work stoppage can be ended as quickly as possible and operations at CTB can be resumed."
Unexcused absence from work is generally considered a breach of employment contract obligations, according to a statement. "Due to the current situation at CTB, HHLA has initiated measures under labor law." HHLA did not provide any information on how many employees were taking part in the action. Several media outlets had previously reported.
The Group Works Council had spoken out strictly against MSC joining the company. However, Christian Baranowski, head of the works council, ruled out calls for strikes or demonstrations on Friday due to the Works Constitution Act. However, there are talks between the workforce and the trade union Verdi. The works council is demanding a collective rescue agreement "that secures the preservation of HHLA AG with all its companies and its structure". This included location guarantees and the exclusion of compulsory redundancies. The employee representatives did not initially comment on the work stoppage.
The Executive Board and Supervisory Board of the city-owned HHLA recommended that shareholders accept the MSC takeover bid on Monday. Among other things, HHLA emphasizes that there are significant commitments for the employees. For example, redundancies for operational reasons would be ruled out for at least five years. For the employees, it has been agreed that co-determination will be retained, explained Economics Senator Melanie Leonhard and Finance Senator Andreas Dressel.
Despite the work stoppage affecting the Burchardkai terminal due to employee protests against MSC's entry into HHLA, the company is actively engaging with employees to resume operations as soon as possible. In the context of transportation, this disruption in shipping operations at Burchardkai is causing traffic delays and potential rerouting of cargo.
Source: www.dpa.com
