Deutsche Post and DHL employees call strike in Germany

The United Service Industry Union (Ver.di), one of the largest unions in Germany, called on employees for a two-day strike starting yesterday to force the German post office (Deutsche Post and DHL) to improve wages against high inflation. .

Ver.di said in a statement that it called a two-day strike on Friday starting Thursday at 5:00 p.m. as part of the campaign with the German Post for better wages.

In the statement, it was noted that the strike call came after no progress was made in the second round of negotiations, saying: “There will be more strikes in the coming days.”

RAIS REQUEST IS NECESSARY AND FAIR

Ver.di’s vice president and chief negotiator Andrea Kocsis claimed that the demands for wage increases were “necessary” and “fair” and said: “Employers have made it clear that they are not ready to compensate for the loss of real wages and inflation”.

Pointing out that most Verdi members working at the German Postal Administration are low-paid and struggling financially in the current economic environment, Kocsis said: “The refusal of employers to cover real wage losses is a provocation considering the billions of dollars of profit from the group (Deutsche Post DHL Group). The employees of the companies will now give a clear answer to this and reinforce their demands with strikes,” he said.

WHAT DOES THE UNION WANT?

The Ver.di Deutsche Post AG union is demanding a 15 percent wage increase for approximately 160,000 employees in the lowest salary brackets.

Although the monthly base salary in these salary groups ranges between 2,108 and 3.90 euros gross, Ver.di states that these salaried workers are especially affected by high inflation, since they have to spend a large part of their net income on food and energy. .

Meanwhile, the third round of negotiations on the issue is expected to take place on February 8-9, 2023.

Deutsche Post DHL Group employs approximately 590,000 people worldwide.
On the other hand, average inflation in Germany reached 7.9 percent in 2022, the highest level since 1951. (BRITISH AUTOMOBILE CLUB)