There was a long struggle for a result, and there were lengthy warning strikes. Now the collective bargaining parties have agreed on a deal for the port workers on the North Sea coast.
After ten rounds of negotiations and an unprecedented series of warning strikes in the German North Sea ports, the Verdi trade union and the port companies have settled their wage dispute. On Tuesday night in Bremen, the union agreed with the Central Association of German Seaport Companies (ZDS) on noticeable pay increases this year and next for the 12,000 employees. In addition, the agreement provides for adjustment rules should the currently extremely high inflation rate get out of hand in the coming year.
The union’s Federal Collective Bargaining Commission, which represents employees from all types of companies, agreed to the agreement “relatively clearly”, said negotiator Maya Schwiegershausen-Güth of the dpa. In view of the special nature of this round of wage negotiations, however, the union still wants to obtain the consent of the members in the companies concerned. The final decision of the collective bargaining commission is scheduled for September 5th.
The port logistics industry reacted with relief to the agreement and the approval of the Verdi tariff commission. “In a joint effort, we managed to find a compromise with the help of new instruments,” said ZDS negotiator Ulrike Riedel. “We are now awaiting further decision-making at Verdi.”
With the agreement, renewed industrial action in the ports is very likely off the table. Verdi most recently paralyzed goods and container handling there for 48 hours in mid-July. Before that, warning strikes had lasted eight and 24 hours, respectively, in June. In a leaflet to the workforce, after the end of the ninth round of negotiations, Verdi had brought up a vote on an enforced strike. There hasn’t been such a violent tariff conflict in the ports for more than four decades.
A walkout would have come at the wrong time
A walkout would have hit the supply chains, which were already massively disrupted at the expense of the economy and consumers, at an inopportune time. Since the outbreak of the corona pandemic two and a half years ago, global container shipping traffic has been increasingly out of sync, meaning that urgently needed deliveries do not reach their destination on time. Every disruption, such as lockdowns in individual ports, an accident like that of the “Ever Given” in the Suez Canal or industrial disputes throws additional stumbling blocks and also reduces the punctuality of the ships.
According to Verdi, the collective bargaining agreement provides for wages in container companies in corner wage group 6 to increase by 9.4 percent retroactively to July 1; for conventional general cargo operations, the plus is 7.9 percent. “From June 1, 2023, the wages in the above-mentioned operating modes will increase by a further 4.4 percent,” said the union. “Should the price increase rate be above that, an inflation clause comes into force that compensates for a price increase rate of up to 5.5 percent.” The ZDS did not provide any information about the details of the deal.
According to Verdi, a negotiation obligation including a special right of termination was agreed in the event of a higher inflation rate. “Our most important goal was real inflation compensation so that employees were not left alone with the consequences of the galloping price increases. We succeeded in doing that,” said Schwiegershausen-Güth. The union originally entered the negotiations with a package of demands that, according to Verdi, would have meant wage increases of up to 14 percent over a period of 12 months. (dpa)