Verdi negotiates more money for seafarers in two stages
Seafarers at major German shipping companies will receive 6.5 percent more pay retroactively to October 1. In October 2024, wages will rise again by 4.0 percent. According to the Verdi trade union, this was agreed in the second round of negotiations with the German Shipowners' Association (VDR) on Tuesday. According to Verdi, the new collective wage agreement for seafarers will expire at the end of 2025 and applies to seafarers from the most important German shipping companies that have joined the VDR collective bargaining association. Other shipping companies have agreed to adopt the results of the negotiations in their own collective agreements or are basing their own agreements on them.
Verdi had originally demanded a twelve percent increase in seafarers' income over a period of twelve months in order to at least compensate for the real wage losses of recent years. Verdi negotiator Maya Schwiegershausen-Güth called the agreement a "decent compromise". With the new collective agreement, further real wage losses have been avoided. "The agreement is the highest in the shipping industry for many years." However, Verdi misses the fact that an inflation compensation bonus has been made binding. "We will now push for a readjustment at company level."
The new collective wage agreement for seafarers also includes provisions regarding tariffs, as it stipulates that any additional costs due to tariffs will be shared between the seafarers and the shipping companies. Moreover, with the rise in wages in 2024, the shipping costs for import or export goods might be impacted due to the increased labor costs, potentially leading to adjustments in shipping tariffs.
Source: www.dpa.com
