Verdi - Retail pilot round to resolve wage dispute
Three days before New Year's Eve, a pilot round in Hamburg should bring a breakthrough in the months-long deadlocked wage dispute in the retail sector. After more than 60 inconclusive bargaining rounds in the various bargaining areas and a fruitless top-level meeting, the umbrella organization HDE announced on Thursday that it would seek a solution with the trade union Verdi on 28 December in the Hanseatic city.
Nevertheless, Verdi intends to stick to the announced warning strikes. "The current nationwide strikes this week until Christmas Eve remain unaffected by the negotiation date in Hamburg," Verdi announced on Thursday in response to a dpa inquiry in Berlin. "They will continue as planned."
The German Retail Association (HDE) described the date as the "last chance for an agreement before the end of the year" - and has called the employers ' previous offers into question if no agreement can be reached by the end of the year.
"It is good that the employers have accepted our proposed date and want to come back to the negotiating table this year. After all, if you don't talk, you can't find a solution," said Corinna Groß, head of the federal retail sector group at the Verdi federal executive board.
"What is not so good is that they are blatantly threatening us that this is the last chance for an agreement," added Groß. A deal would only be possible with a further improved offer. "We do not accept any collective bargaining dictates! We are therefore now assuming that the employers will budge and hope that we can reach an agreement for the employees in the Hanseatic city." The union's Hamburg negotiator, Heike Lattekamp, also said that a wage agreement must bring "tangible improvements".
The wage dispute in the retail sector has been going on for many months - repeatedly accompanied by strike action by the union. Among other things, Verdi is demanding at least 2.50 euros more per hour in all regions in the retail sector and a one-year wage agreement. Depending on the federal state, further demands are also being made. At the end of November, representatives met at a top-level meeting at federal level, which ultimately did not lead to any progress.
According to the HDE, the negotiations should be based on the offer last improved in November. According to this, the employers are offering a total wage increase of 10.24% over the proposed 24-month term. The offer also includes an inflation adjustment bonus of 750 euros and a collectively agreed minimum wage. "This offer is only guaranteed until December 31, 2023," reads an ultimatum from the employers.
The employers' side accuses the union of merely repeating its initial demands, which meant average pay increases of around 15 percent for twelve months. "In the past months of collective bargaining, Verdi has raised its members' expectations too high," said Steven Haarke, Managing Director of HDE collective bargaining. "The gap between this and what retail companies can afford financially in view of the general consumer restraint is therefore too large."
According to HDE, the offer contains all the components needed for a short-term wage agreement, which is increasingly being confirmed by the workforce and even by members of the Verdi negotiating committees. "The background to this is certainly also the growing concern that negotiations will take place under new auspices in the new year," says Haarke. "Employees perceive that some companies will look for their own solutions, that 2023 could remain unresolved in terms of collective bargaining policy and that the current offer will no longer be available in this form due to falling inflation."
HDE collective bargaining poster from 15.12. HDE press release
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Source: www.stern.de
