Demanded 15.5 percent more wages
Nationwide strike announced at Postbank
March 21, 2024, 4:03 p.m
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Verdi calls for strikes at the Postbank. By the end of the week, customers could find themselves in front of closed branches nationwide. The union is also fighting against a massive wave of location closures.
Postbank customers will have to prepare for closed branches in the next few days. The Verdi union once again called on employees in all Postbank branches to go on nationwide warning strikes. The two-day walkouts are scheduled to begin this Friday. The employers’ side made improvements in the third round of negotiations at the beginning of the week, “but on all important points the offer remains below the expectations of a compromise that can be concluded,” criticized Verdi negotiator Jan Duscheck.
“The employees expect long-term job guarantees and a clear material appreciation for their work and the special stresses of the last few months,” said Duscheck. Verdi announced that it would gradually expand industrial action and also prepare for the strike vote. “If the employer side wants to avoid this escalation, they must significantly improve their offer by the next negotiation date on April 16,” said Duscheck.
Verdi is demanding 15.5 percent more money for around 12,000 employees in the Deutsche Bank Group with a Postbank collective agreement, but at least an increase in salaries of 600 euros. The German Bank Employees Association (DBV) wants to raise 14.5 percent more money for employees of Postbank, Postbank branch sales, PCC Services and BCB.
There is a risk of branch closures
Due to the announcement of branch closures, Verdi is also pushing to secure jobs in the long term by extending protection against dismissal until December 31, 2028. Deutsche Bank wants to close up to 250 of the 550 Postbank branches by mid-2026 and also cut staff. Shortly before Christmas, Deutsche Bank promised that it would not lay off employees for operational reasons in its private customer bank in Germany until the end of September of the current year.
According to the unions, employers have now offered to extend protection against dismissal until the end of 2026. In addition, the employers’ latest offer includes an increase in monthly salaries of 6.4 percent or at least 250 euros on June 1, 2024 and a further 2.0 percent on July 1, 2025.