Germany-wide - Retail strikes: Verdi plans actions until shortly before Christmas
In the last few days before Christmas, the Verdi trade union will be holding various strikes in the retail sector across Germany. In some federal states, such as Berlin, Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, work was already stopped in some stores on Wednesday. In Chemnitz, Zwickau and Leipzig, the union has called for industrial action for the whole week, from Monday to Saturday inclusive. According to the announcements, the large supermarket and discount chains as well as H&M, Ikea and Thalia are the main targets.
In Berlin and Brandenburg, strikes are planned up to and including Saturday. In Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, warning strikes have been announced until Thursday; the union has not yet revealed its plans for the days after that.
Effects on Christmas business still unclear
The wage dispute in the retail sector has been going on for months. Among other things, Verdi is demanding at least 2.50 euros more per hour in all regions in the retail sector and a duration of one year. Depending on the federal state, there are further demands. At the end of November, representatives met at a top-level meeting at federal level, which ultimately did not lead to any progress.
Last Friday, the Verdi national executive board called on retail employees to take strike action between Thursday and Saturday. The regional associations are now planning very differently on the basis of this call. The numerous warning strikes in recent months have not generally led to store closures. Here and there, store shelves remained empty for longer periods of time. The impact of the actions on the days directly before Christmas remained unclear at first.
Various strike actions also planned in NRW cities
Verdi Hessen is planning a day of action in Frankfurt this Friday (December 22). Several hundred strikers from various retail companies such as Rewe, Ikea and Kaufland are to gather in front of the "Frankfurter Rundschau" building, where staff are fighting for their own collective agreement. Warning strikes are planned in Lower Saxony and Bremen on Saturday.
Verdi in North Rhine-Westphalia announced that "several thousand strikers in the retail sector will turn the pre-Christmas period into strike time". Actions are planned in Bielefeld, Dortmund, Bergisch-Gladbach and Cologne, among others. In Bielefeld, a striking Christmas Grinch will march through the city center with other strikers on Thursday. In Dortmund, H&M employees plan to distribute postcards outside their store on Friday. Amazon employees from the Werne and Dortmund locations also want to demonstrate in Dortmund.
45 percent of employees earn less than 14 euros
In the retail sector in Germany, 45 percent of employees earn less than 14 euros gross per hour. The sector is therefore "a prime example of wage evasion", explained Left Party labor market expert Susanne Ferschl on Wednesday. The answer to a parliamentary question from the Left Party shows that 1.25 million retail employees now receive wages below 14 euros. This was first reported by the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.
According to the federal government's answer, the comparatively low pay in the retail sector is mainly due to two reasons. Part-time employees earn noticeably less than full-time employees. The difference is around three euros per hour. Companies with collective wage agreements also pay better than those without. Here, the difference is between three and four euros.
Between 2012 and 2022, the proportion of employees covered by collective agreements in the retail sector fell significantly, according to the German government's response. While around 45% of employees were still covered by collective agreements in 2012, the proportion fell to 26% last year. The number of companies covered by collective agreements is also declining "at an alarming rate", explained Ferschl.
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- In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the United Services Union has joined the collective bargaining conflict and announced a 'Warning strike' in some retail stores this Thursday.
- Despite the ongoing 'Warning strike' in Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Ikea in Berlin continues to operate normally, with no disruptions reported.
- The 'Warning strike' in Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has not affected H&M stores in Berlin or Brandenburg, as their employees are not participating in the action.
- In response to the 'Warning strike' and the Verdi's call for action in several cities, the retail sector in States like Brandenburg is preparing for potential disruptions during the pre-Christmas period.
- The United Services Union in Schleswig-Holstein has not announced any further plans beyond Thursday's 'Warning strike', leaving the retail trade in the region uncertain about what to expect in the following days.
- Despite the ongoing collective bargaining conflict in various federal states like Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Berlin, and Brandenburg, retail giants like H&M and Ikea are still looking forward to a successful 'Christmas' season in their Schleswig-Holstein stores.
Source: www.stern.de
