Frankfurt. In the shadow of Frankfurt’s banking towers, cash transport companies have demanded higher wages. Under the motto “Millionaire by day, beggar by night?” Around 200 demonstrators marched through the financial district. According to the Verdi union, the warning strike will continue until Friday. Employees from Prosegur, Ziemann and IWS were called upon to take part.
According to several demo participants, the cash supply in Hesse is not in immediate danger. “However, if a machine breaks down today, it will not be repaired for the time being,” says Verdi secretary Mathias Venema, describing the situation.
From the perspective of the Federal Association of German Money and Valuable Services (BDGW), the warning strike could have an impact on the availability of cash. If the strike participation is high, “then there will certainly be selective effects on cash availability,” said BDGW spokeswoman Silke Zöller when asked.
However, the customers have also made preparations together with the service providers and, for example, have larger ATMs in highly frequented locations. However, the extent of the warning strikes is large. If there is a nationwide call for a strike, it is something different than a warning strike, which should actually only last a few hours and not two days in a row before the weekend, says Zöller.
The background to the warning strike is the wage and collective bargaining negotiations for around 10,000 employees in the industry nationwide. According to Verdi, the BDGW did not present an acceptable offer in the second round of negotiations. Even after the subsequent warning strikes lasting several days, no improved offer was made.
The union demands that all times exceeding eight hours per working day be paid with overtime pay. In addition, it requires a uniform holiday bonus and Christmas bonus each amounting to half of the gross monthly salary and a vacation entitlement of 31 days based on a five-day week for all employees. In addition, Verdi is calling for significantly increasing wages – in Hesse, the hourly wage for cash drivers should rise to 21.50 euros. (dpa)
