Verdi-warning strike – The port of Hamburg is closed to large ships
3:59 p.m.: The port of Hamburg has been closed to large ships because of the announced warning strike by the Verdi union. Since Wednesday morning, ships requiring pilotage have been unable to enter or leave Germany’s largest port, the port administration HPA said on Wednesday on request. Verdi called on the employees of the port administration to go on a warning strike from Wednesday 5:30 p.m. to Friday 6 a.m. The “Hamburger Abendblatt” had previously reported.
An HPA spokeswoman explained: “Due to the expected massive restrictions from the announced warning strikes, the HPA has decided to block the Elbe for ships requiring pilotage from around 10 a.m. today until further notice.” All ships from a length of 90 are affected meters or a width of 13 meters and more. The blocking is necessary because the so-called pilot transfer boats are to be on strike and the pilots can no longer reach the large ships.
According to the current status, around 18 ships bound for Hamburg are affected. The number of ships leaving the port affected is much more difficult to quantify because they only have to report two to four hours before departure, the spokeswoman said.
For emergencies, there is an emergency service agreement with Verdi. According to the HPA, there will be severe restrictions in the area of locks, movable bridges, barrages and the old Elbe tunnel in St. Pauli. Strike measures are to be expected until Friday morning, which would limit the regular operation of the systems or lead to full closures. Flood protection and emergency operation on the major bridges are ensured. However, openings of the Este bascule bridge and the Cranzer rolling bridge are not possible.
The Verdi trade union called on all Hamburg employees and trainees in the public sector to go on a all-day warning strike on Thursday. According to the union, in addition to the HPA employees, several thousand employees from the hospitals, the Elbkinder daycare centers, the city cleaning and the State Opera will take to the streets together. The strikers meet at 9:00 a.m. for the rally on the Rathausmarkt and then march through the city center to the union building at Besenbinderhof. There will be a final rally there.
Advertisement
With the warning strike, the workers want to give more weight to their demands before the next round of negotiations from March 27th to 29th in Potsdam. The union is demanding 10.5 percent more wages, but at least 500 euros more per month, for around 2.5 million employees in the federal and local public services nationwide. The employer side has so far offered five percent more money in two steps and one-off payments totaling 2500 euros.
Verdi calls for warning strikes in administrations and daycare centers
3:55 p.m.: In the collective bargaining dispute in the public sector, employees of the city administrations in Frankfurt (Oder) and Eisenhüttenstadt will go on warning strike this Thursday. Parents of daycare children also have to be prepared for restrictions. Because in Eisenhüttenstadt, according to the union spokesman, the daycare centers should remain closed because of the warning strike. Employees on strike from Eisenhüttenstadt are to come to a strike rally in front of the city administration in Frankfurt (Oder) (9.30 a.m.). The Verdi union expects a few hundred participants, as announced on Wednesday.
On Monday, March 27, the third round of collective bargaining for the federal and local public sector begins in Potsdam. It is accompanied by work stoppages in the Brandenburg state capital. Verdi called on employees in all administrations, building yards, cemeteries, daycare centers and libraries to go on an all-day warning strike on Monday. There should be a rally in front of the negotiation hotel in Potsdam.
In Berlin, too, on March 23 and 24, employees in a “majority” of public sector companies were called on to lay down work. According to the union, municipal hospitals, water companies, city cleaning and the student union are among those affected.
The background is the collective bargaining dispute in the public sector. Verdi and the civil servants’ association dbb are demanding 10.5 percent and at least 500 euros more wages for the 2.5 million employees nationwide. The employers submitted an offer in the second round of negotiations at the end of February. Among other things, it includes a pay increase of five percent in two steps and one-off payments totaling 2,500 euros. The unions immediately rejected this.
Verdi increases pressure – new warning strikes in Berlin and Brandenburg
3.45 p.m.: Shortly before the upcoming round of negotiations in the public sector, the Verdi union is also increasing the pressure on employers in Berlin and Brandenburg. For Thursday and Friday, the union is calling on municipal employees in both federal states to go on warning strikes again, as Verdi announced on Wednesday. Municipal hospitals, water companies, city cleaning and the student union are affected on the two days in Berlin. On March 27th there will be another warning strike at the Charité, at Vivantes and at the Jewish hospital.
In Brandenburg, daycare centers and the city administrations in Frankfurt (Oder) and Eisenhüttenstadt were affected on Thursday. A rally in front of the town hall is planned for the morning (9.30 a.m.) in Frankfurt.
The Charité announced that planned, non-urgent interventions would have to be postponed again. On the other hand, time-critical tumor operations, transplants, operations on children, the care of patients after a stroke, heart attack and other emergencies should be carried out. “The repeated warning strike measures within a short period of time pose great challenges for the health care of the Charité,” said a spokesman.
The Berliner Stadtreinigung prepared consumers for the fact that organic, residual waste, and in many places also recyclable waste bins could only be emptied again from Saturday. The recycling centers are expected to remain closed on Saturday.
It is also possible that the citizens of Berlin and Brandenburg will be faced with far-reaching restrictions in traffic next week. On Thursday, Verdi wants to inform about possible joint actions together with the railway and transport union (EVG).
The EVG is currently negotiating with Deutsche Bahn and around 50 other railway companies about higher wages and salaries for employees. According to media reports, there should be warning strikes in rail traffic on Monday, which would also affect the S-Bahn and regional traffic with the neighboring federal state in Berlin. The unions have not yet commented on the reports.
The employers’ association KAV Berlin criticized the recent warning strikes in municipal hospitals as “disproportionate”. They are inappropriate with regard to patient care. “Three-day warning strikes immediately before the continuation of collective bargaining at federal level, which could lead to the closure of beds and thus to restrictions in patient care, are not effective,” it said in a statement.
Verdi and the civil servants’ association dbb are currently negotiating nationwide on new tariffs for the approximately 2.5 million federal and municipal employees. They demand 10.5 percent and at least 500 euros more wages. The employers submitted an offer in the second round of negotiations at the end of February. Among other things, it includes a pay increase of five percent in two steps and one-off payments totaling 2,500 euros. The unions immediately rejected this. The third round of negotiations begins on Monday.
Verdi announces massive warning strikes in the north for Friday
1:42 p.m.: Shortly before the third round of collective bargaining in the federal and municipal public sector, the Verdi union is increasing the pressure on employers with extensive work stoppages in Schleswig-Holstein. Verdi announced the largest warning strike day in the north for this Friday, and the Kiel Canal with the locks in Kiel and Brunsbüttel should also be included. Various facilities in Kiel and Lübeck as well as in numerous districts are affected.
“We are facing an escalation that last occurred in Germany in the 1970s, when employers continue to put crumbs instead of offers on the negotiating table,” explained Verdi regional manager Susanne Schöttke. The Kiel Canal is deliberately integrated. “Here, a day of strike between Brunsbüttel and Kiel costs the federal government amounts that can run into the millions.”
The third round of negotiations for the federal and local authorities begins on Monday in Potsdam. In Kiel and in the district of Plön, the warning strikes will affect all public service companies and offices. Daycare centers remain closed, garbage is not picked up, theater performances are cancelled, there will be restrictions in the city administration, at savings banks and public utilities. The city hospital will work in emergency mode.
In Lübeck and the districts of Ostholstein, Duchy of Lauenburg and Stormarn, employees of administrations, retirement homes, waste disposal companies and the waterways and shipping authorities have been called on to go on warning strikes. Various facilities including hospitals and daycare centers in Flensburg and in the Rendsburg-Eckernförde and Schleswig-Flensburg districts are also affected.
Verdi is demanding 10.5 percent more wages for the 2.5 million federal and municipal employees nationwide. Employers are gradually offering five percent more for a two-year term and a one-off payment of 2,500 euros.
The north and east of Bavaria are the focus of the warning strike today
Wednesday, March 22, 6:21 a.m.: The warning strikes in the public sector continue on Wednesday in northern and eastern Bavaria. Verdi has called for action in the trade union districts of Central Franconia, Lower Bavaria, Würzburg/Aschaffenburg, Upper Franconia-West and East. The expected largest rally is expected in Nuremberg at 11:00 a.m. on the Kornmarkt, where the union is hoping for 8,000 participants.
As a rule, as on Monday and Tuesday in other parts of the country, employees in all areas of public service are called to go on warning strikes – from daycare to clinics, administration and employment agencies to garbage disposal. In local transport, however, there are only isolated actions, for example in Bayreuth. Although there are collective bargaining there too, in Bavaria they are separate from those in the public sector.
In addition, isolated campaigns in other Bavarian regions have also been announced. In Augsburg, for example, employees in waste management, the building department and public utilities want to stop working again after Monday.
According to Verdi, the willingness to strike is very high. According to the union, more than 10,000 workers took part in warning strikes on Tuesday.
In Bavaria, several collective bargaining conflicts are currently running in parallel. In local public transport, there are identical demands as in the public service, but the negotiations are separate. In the public sector, Verdi wants 10.5 percent more wages for the 2.5 million federal and municipal employees nationwide, but at least 500 euros more per month. Employers are gradually offering 5 percent more for a two-year term and a one-time payment of 2,500 euros. The third round of negotiations is scheduled for the end of March.
More information on the warning strikes can be found on the following pages.
