After four separate rounds of contract negotiations , German port dockworkers and their employers still can’t get on the same page, with the union turning down two separate proposals for a new collective bargaining agreement.
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The Federal Tariff Commission of the trade union Ver.di (United Services Union) revealed to employers’ association ZDS (Central Association of German Seaport Companies) that its workers largely weren’t in favor of the proposals.
While only 56 percent of the 11,500 members participated in Ver.di’s internal survey last Thursday and Friday, the majority of respondents voted against the offers. The union employees have been working under the terms of a prior contract that expired May 31.
With the vote, Ver.di is demanding a fifth round of negotiations and for the company to “improve the offer presented,” with Maren Ulbrich, head of maritime economy negotiations at Ver.di, saying in a statement that the parties are “still far apart” in the talks.
Repeating verbiage from prior negotiations earlier this summer, Ulbrich called the ZDS offers “completely inadequate.”
“The strikes of the last few weeks have clearly shown that the employees are not prepared to be fobbed off cheaply,” Ulbrich said. “The employers have only themselves to blame for the current situation.”
The first variant of the new contract presented had a term of 12 months and a 1,000-euro ($1,118) tax- and duty-free inflation compensation bonus. On Jan. 1, the hourly wage rate would be increased by 0.95 euros ($1.06), there would be higher shift bonuses and the annual holiday allowance would be raised by 480 euros ($537).
Comparatively, the second variant had a longer term of 16 months, an inflation compensation bonus of 1,400 euros ($1,565) and an hourly wage increase of 1.15 euros ($1.29) as of Jan. 1. Shift bonuses and holiday pay increases were the same, at 480 euros ($537).
Ulbrich acknowledged that ZDS “has made some progress” and offered “real wage increases” in the two recent proposals but said that the offers are still not up to par with what the employees expect.
Ver.di’s demanded a wage increase of 3 euros ($3.35) per hour as of June 1, as well as a corresponding increase in shift allowances. This would include back pay for the missing increase in shift allowances going back to the 2022 collective agreement.
ZDS made the two most recent proposals in July in the wake of multiple “warning strikes” throughout the summer that took place in German ports including Hamburg, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven, Brake and Emden.
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According to Ulbrich, “it remains to be seen” whether there will be more warning strikes before any upcoming round of negotiations.
This is the second time in three years that contract negotiations between Ver.di and ZDS have endured numerous negotiation breakdowns and multiple strikes. In 2022, those contract talks went through 10 separate rounds before the most recent two-year agreement was reached.
Concerns related to labor at the ports are just another in a wider line of worries across Germany’s logistics operations, with the country enduring three-week rail and airport strikes earlier in March. In the wake of the work stoppages, Germany began overhauling one of its major rail corridors in July, starting with a 43-mile stretch between Frankfurt and Mannheim.
Freight traffic is being forced to find alternative routes or turn to trucking for the five months the railroad will be closed for. The 20 rail stations along the route are due to be modernized.
National railway Deutsche Bahn, which is selling off its DB Schenker logistics unit to focus on improving its rail operation, is working with the German government on the refurbishment.
As Germany aims to improve its internal rail system and get its port labor situation in gear, the country has shifted more of its trade policies to bolster relationships closer to home.
German exporters shipped more products to Poland than to China in the first half of the year, according to the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations.
The country’s exports to Poland increased 4.6 percent to 48.4 billion euros ($54.1 billion) in the first half of 2024, edging past exports to China, which were at 48.2 billion euros ($53.9 billion). With the jump, Poland has become the fourth-biggest market for German exports, after the U.S., France and the Netherlands.
Central and Eastern Europe still account for just 19 percent of German foreign trade, the committee said.
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