- Verdi urges HHLA employees to initiate another strike action
The labor union Verdi has urged workers at the Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) to partake in a 24-hour warning strike on Wednesday. Their goal is to strengthen their demand for a social tariff agreement, Verdi announced. Around 300 employees had previously protested in the streets last Friday for the same reason. On Wednesday, the Hamburg Parliament will make a final decision regarding MSC, the world's largest shipping company, entering HHLA. Verdi and the dockworkers strongly oppose MSC owning 49.9% of the company, with the city holding only 51.1%.
The proposed corporate reorganization includes extensive automation and a new structure. Workers are concerned that this major restructuring will directly result in job losses, constant changes to workplaces, and an increase in workload. Verdi also believes that jobs at the overall port operation, acting as a staffing agency for the port, are at risk.
"Regrettably, we haven't seen significant progress in critical matters during the collective bargaining talks with the employer," stated Verdi representative André Kretschmar, justifying the second strike in a short time. "This strike is crucial for our team members in these turbulent times. Ultimately, even the employer would profit from a swift and positive agreement. We aim to finalize this collective agreement as soon as possible."
HHLA employees are encouraged to join the warning strike, with the action starting from the early shift. Workers at the overall port operation who have a deployment day at an affected HHLA company on the strike day are also urged to participate in a solidarity strike, as per Verdi's request. A demonstration from HHLA headquarters in Hafencity to the trade union building at Besenbinderhof is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. The next negotiation session is set for September 13.
The labor union Verdi is urging HHLA employees to participate in the warning strike, highlighting that the Hamburg Parliament's decision regarding MSC's involvement in HHLA could potentially affect their job security and working conditions due to the proposed corporate reorganization. Despite ongoing collective bargaining talks with HHLA, Verdi representative André Kretschmar has expressed regret over the lack of progress in critical matters, emphasizing the importance of the strike for the employees and saying that a swift agreement would benefit the employer as well.
