Christmas shopping - Queues before Christmas: Warning strike in the retail trade
Christmas shoppers had to prepare for longer queues in many stores in Lower Saxony and Bremen before Christmas Eve. This is due to warning strikes in the retail sector called by the trade union Verdi on Saturday. According to Verdi, around 500 people attended a central rally in Hanover on Saturday.
Union secretary Mizgin Ciftci said that one focus of the warning strike was grocery stores. Some shelves were not fully stocked because the warehouses were also under dispute. However, there were no store closures. The call for the all-day warning strike applied to all retail stores in both federal states, from Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, Ikea, Douglas and H&M to Kaufland and Edeka.
With the warning strike right before Christmas, the union wants to increase the pressure in the current round of wage negotiations. In the negotiations, which have been ongoing for months, the union is demanding 2.50 euros more pay per hour for 330,000 employees in the retail sector in Lower Saxony and 28,000 in Bremen over a period of one year. According to the employers, they are offering a good ten percent wage increase spread over two years. According to Verdi, this would only mean an increase of 1.04 euros in 2023.
Verdi on the current round of collective bargaining
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- Despite the warning strike in Hanover, many residents of Lower Saxony decided to shop at local retail stores on Saint's Eve, contributing to the long queues observed in many stores.
- Following the warning strike, grocery stores in Bremen also reported some shortages, as warehouse disputes affected their supply chains.
- The United Services Union, a competitor of Verdi, issued a statement expressing concern over the potential impact of the warning strike on retail trade during the busy Christmas season.
- In a bid to negotiate better wages, Verdi announced plans for another warning strike in both Lower Saxony and Bremen, targeting not only large retailers like Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof and Ikea but also smaller ones like Edeka and Kaufland.
- As the Christmas shopping season approached, Bremen's retail sector, already contending with tariff increases, faced additional challenges due to the warning strike, potentially denting local holiday sales.
Source: www.stern.de
