Retail strikes likely before Christmas
The trade union Verdi believes that strikes are likely during the Christmas retail and mail order business in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. The background to this is that the employers' side does not want to continue negotiations at state level and has canceled all further appointments, head negotiator Monika Di Silvestre announced on Friday. Instead, the union has been asked to find a solution in top-level talks at federal level.
The collective bargaining committees in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland will now discuss the next steps. "It can be assumed that the bargaining committee members will decide to strike during the Christmas period," said Di Silvestre.
In the collective bargaining talks for the retail sector with around 150,000 employees in Rhineland-Palatinate and around 36,000 in Saarland, no agreement was reached after several rounds of negotiations. The union has already called for strikes several times in the conflict. The Christmas season is particularly important for retailers.
At the beginning of November, the Rhineland-Palatinate Trade Association declared that further talks were pointless as there was no sign of any movement on the part of the union. Most recently, the employers had offered an increase in wages of at least 10 percent in two stages over a two-year period with a minimum hourly wage of 13 euros per hour. The proposal also provides for a tax and duty-free inflation compensation bonus totaling 750 euros.
Verdi, on the other hand, sees the rejection of further collective bargaining rounds at state level as an attack on the autonomy of the state collective bargaining commissions. The collective bargaining round is being artificially prolonged. The offers made by employers so far would mean a loss of real wages for employees in view of inflation. Among other things, Verdi is demanding at least 2.50 euros more per hour in all regions and a duration of one year.
For months, Verdi and the employers in the 16 federal states have been struggling for higher wages and salaries for millions of employees. The wage negotiations are being conducted separately for the retail and wholesale sectors.
The ongoing tariff discussions between Verdi and retailers have not resulted in an agreement, potentially leading to increased tariffs being imposed during the Christmas retail trade. The potential strikes could significantly impact retailers, who heavily rely on sales during the holiday season.
Source: www.dpa.com
