Verdi and employers are struggling to find a solution to the collective bargaining dispute
Monday, June 24 at 2:12 p.m. In a deadlocked collective bargaining dispute in the private bus industry in Rhineland-Palatinate, Verdi’s union and employers continue to struggle for a solution. On Monday, a representative of the union in Mainz said that the employers have submitted a proposal for a mediation process. Verdi could imagine this way. However, this offer also must be binding and complete in arbitration.
Verdi called a warning strike in Berlin and Brandenburg retailers
Sunday, June 23 at 5:17 p.m. The Verdi union has called for precautionary strikes in Berlin and Brandenburg this Monday over a retail collective bargaining dispute. It affects branches of Rewe and Edeka, which do not have a proper name and are not privatized, as well as Ikea, H&M, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof and Kaufland, said Verdi’s negotiator in Berlin-Brandenburg, Connie Weissbach. to the German Press Agency. Sunday.
With the precautionary strike, the union wants to put pressure on the employers before the next round of negotiations on Wednesday. With collective agreements already in place in several countries, Verdi also expects constructive collective negotiations in Berlin and Brandenburg.
According to its own statements, the union is demanding a salary increase and a reduction in the deadline, as it has been delayed by three months for Berlin and Brandenburg. As part of the preemptive strike, a rally and demonstration is planned in Berlin on Monday (from 11:15 am). Negotiations are still underway for wholesale sales as well. Verdi had already drawn attention to their demands with retail and wholesale warning strikes in recent months. However, branch closures are not expected.
IG Metall Mitte wants 7 percent more money
1:16 p.m. In the upcoming collective negotiations for the metal and electrical industry, the IG Metall district in Mitte has come forward to demand 7 percent more money. The collective agreement must have a term of 12 months. Training allowances should increase disproportionately by €170 per training year. Mitte region decided on that on Friday. The demand for about 400,000 workers in the metal and electrical industries in Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Thuringia is in line with a recommendation from the union’s executive board, which wants to make a final decision in July after discussions in regional collective bargaining committees. 9th.
“IG Metall did not make a careless demand, but analyzed the economic situation of companies and employees very carefully,” says Jörg Köllinger, IG Metall Mitte district manager and negotiator. The tariff demand was preceded by intense debates in the companies. The result is clear. employees need more money to offset increased costs and increase their purchasing power.
Ralf Wangeman, a negotiator of the Hessenmetall employers’ association, criticized. “IG Metall ignores the average situation of the Hessian companies, despite the concerns of the employees, it is not clear that the “IG Metall Mitte” demands one of the highest salaries. in the midst of a recent recession, although that itself warns of deindustrialization.’
In comparison, Germany does not strike nearly as often as other countries
Friday, June 21 at 10:20 a.m. 2023 was largely marked by labor disputes in Germany, but the Federal Republic remains in the bottom half in international comparisons. This can be seen from the balance sheet published on Thursday by the Economic and Social Science Institute (WSI), a trade union-affiliated Hans Böckler Foundation. In other countries, the scale of strikes is larger, with the number of lost working days per 1,000 workers significantly higher on average over the past 10 years. Belgium reaches 103 lost days per year, France up to 92 (only in the private sector), Finland – 90 and You have to 83. In Germany it is only 18 days.
However, in 2023, the willingness to strike in this country was relatively high. The WSI recorded 312 industrial disputes and more than 850,000 strikers. The total number of lost working days was 1.5 million, twice as many as in 2022 (674). It’s also the highest since 2015, when strikes totaled around 2 million workdays. According to the authors of the study, the reason for many strikes is high inflation and the resulting real loss of wages for workers.
Bettina Kohlrausch, scientific director of WSI, considers the large participation in the strike a good sign. Commitment fosters confidence “to be able to positively influence one’s own working and living conditions and ultimately to strengthen democracy in Germany.” 2024 is expected to be another year of intense labor disputes. According to the researchers, the fact that Germany lags behind at the international level is caused by the relatively restrictive right to strike. More large-scale strikes are possible in many countries.
The WSI industrial action balance sheet is an estimate based on union information and media reports. Precautionary strikes are therefore not registered by all unions outside of collective agreements, only in exceptional cases.
Short-term warning strike at Radio Bremen
20:20 Warning strikes at Radio Bremen led to short-term changes to the program on Tuesday. There have been some altered formats and failures in radio and online offerings, the public broadcaster confirmed when asked. According to Verdi’s trade union, around 150 employees of Radio Bremen and its subsidiary Bremedia stopped working until noon.
There were moderation failures on Bremen One and Bremen Vier radio channels, the station announced. Mainly music and traffic reports played until 10am, with radio news canceled between 6 and 8:30. The online offering and sports reporting were also on strike, according to the union.
Like Radio Bremen, others are also running ARD:- Institutions are currently in collective bargaining, eg SWR, BR, NDR and WDR:. Houses are facing the challenge that the financial situation will be unclear from next year. There is still no decision on whether the broadcasting fee will increase.
Verdi, the Association of German Journalists (DJV) and the Association of Radio, Film and Television Workers (VRFF) had called for a precautionary strike. The occasion was the directors’ meeting in Saarbrücken. The unions demand a 10.5 percent increase in wages and salaries. Collective negotiations at Radio Bremen will continue on June 25.
The spokesperson of the station emphasized that the Bremen radio relies on negotiations. “We do not consider an undeclared strike favorable for negotiations. Our audience, for whom we have tried to continue broadcasting with the highest possible quality in the conditions of the strike, is suffering.”
Wednesday is another strike at City-Bahn
Tuesday, June 18 at 9:10 a.m. There is no end in sight to the wave of strikes in City-Bain Chemnitz. The company is preparing for another strike on Wednesday, the 16th in a row, a spokesman said on Monday. The train drivers’ union announced the strike to the management over the weekend, but did not specify a specific time. The duration is also not clear yet. With industrial action, the union is putting pressure on the implementation of a 35-hour week. The city rail company has so far resisted this. It serves several lines in the Chemnitz area.