Three million letters affected
Thousands of postal workers lay down work
01/21/2023 2:59 p.m
Millions of letters and parcels are a long time coming this weekend. Thousands of workers in postal and parcel centers across Germany have been on strike since Thursday. In view of the high inflation, the Verdi union is demanding 15 percent more wages for the employees – the Deutsche Post counters this.
Many mailboxes are likely to remain empty: in the collective bargaining dispute at Deutsche Post, the Verdi union has continued its warning strikes. After the focus on Friday was on the letter and parcel centers, on Saturday the delivery staff nationwide were called to stop their work. “Participation is good, as is the mood among the strikers,” said a Verdi spokesman in Berlin.
The post office said there could be a delay of several days in the collection and delivery of letters and parcels. In some regions, the difficult weather conditions caused by the onset of winter would also have a restrictive effect. According to the current status, around one million parcels and three million letters were affected on Saturday. That corresponds to around 15 percent of the average daily volume for parcels and six percent for letters.
15 percent more wages
Participation in the strikes varies depending on the region and location, and the effects are correspondingly different, a Post spokesman said. A total of around 9,400 employees followed the call for a strike, which is a little more than a third of the employees who should work on Saturday.
According to Verdi, around 15,000 employees took part in the strikes in the letter and parcel centers on Thursday and Friday. For this reason alone, according to Post, there can be delays in delivery for days. The union demands 15 percent more money for a contract period of one year. The Post board rejects the demand as unrealistic.
Verdi wants the strikes to be understood “as a clear signal towards employers”. In the second round of negotiations, the employers made it clear that they were not prepared to compensate for the employees’ real wage losses. Around 140,000 to 160,000 employees belong to wage groups in which the gross monthly salary is between 2109 and 3090 euros. Negotiations continue on February 8th and 9th. Swiss Post has announced that it will then submit an offer.