Verdi threatens warning strikes during the Christmas season
Verdi is demanding more money and better conditions for retail employees. So far, the union has not been able to reach an agreement with the employers. The consequence for the last days of the Christmas shopping season: strikes are being threatened.
In the wage dispute in the retail sector, Verdi boss Frank Werneke has also threatened strikes during the Christmas period. "We are ready to negotiate. If the employers are not and no agreement is reached, the strikes will continue in the Christmas and post-Christmas period," said the chairman of the service union in the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.
The employers are trying to "push through a collective bargaining dictate", Werneke continued. "They are presenting a completely inadequate offer that they want us to sign and are refusing to negotiate. I have rarely seen such disrespectful behavior towards their own employees and their union. Obviously they want to play for time." Therefore, no agreement is foreseeable so far.
Verdi is demanding a 2.50 euro increase in hourly wages in the retail and mail order sectors, among others, while in wholesale and foreign trade the union is demanding a 13 percent wage increase, but at least 400 euros per month. The agreement is to run for twelve months.
The employers are offering wage increases of around ten percent over a period of two years. Verdi boss Werneke rejected this. "According to the retail employers' offer for 2023, for example, a sales assistant would only receive an hourly increase of 1.04 euros, which is far too little," he told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. In addition, many employees would have to work part-time due to the lack of full-time positions on offer.
"In view of the price increases over the last two years, this is not enough," said Werneke. "We can't get along like this, we won't put up with being dictated to by employers."
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Amidst the ongoing wage dispute, retail trade strikes are being contemplated by Verdi during the holiday season, following Verdi's dissatisfaction with the employers' offer. Despite Verdi's readiness to negotiate, the mail order sector could also be impacted by these strikes if a resolution isn't reached.
Source: www.ntv.de
