2024-04-09 20:03:57
The fourth round of collective bargaining at Postbank is imminent. The union is tightening its pace: three groups of employees are to stop work at the same time on Thursday.
Before the fourth round of negotiations in the collective bargaining dispute at Postbank, the Verdi union is expanding its warning strikes. This Thursday, in addition to the employees in the service units (back office) and the call centers nationwide, they are also calling on the employees in the branches to stop work.”
“This once again sends a clear signal that all employees support the demands for a significant improvement in pay and an extension of protection against dismissal,” said Verdi negotiator Jan Duscheck in Berlin. There has been a strike in the back office and call centers since this Tuesday.
Verdi reacts to slow conversations
It was said that by intensifying the warning strikes before the round of negotiations in Frankfurt on April 16, Verdi was reacting to the dragging out talks. The announcement a day and a half before the warning strike was intended to ensure that customers could prepare for it in good time. There could be temporary disruptions, said Duscheck.
Verdi wants to obtain 15.5 percent more money, or at least an increase in monthly salaries of 600 euros, for around 12,000 employees in the Deutsche Bank Group through a Postbank collective agreement. The union is also calling for protection against dismissal to be extended until the end of 2028. Deutsche Bank wants to close up to 250 of the 550 Postbank branches by mid-2026 and also cut staff.
It was only on Monday that Verdi and the German Bank Employees Association (DBV) increased the pressure in the collective bargaining dispute and called on employees in back offices and call centers nationwide to stop work from Tuesday to Wednesday. “Despite weeks of negotiations, the employer is still not prepared to make any substantial concessions to Postbank employees,” said Duscheck.