Germany's CDU party against postal services wage deal applying to whole industry
Germany’s CDU, the senior member of the nation’s two-party ruling coalition, has demanded that an accord between Deutsche Post AG and the ver.di union on minimum wages should not be declared binding for the entire postal services industry.
The collective bargaining agreement cannot be extended, as initially agreed by the government coalition, because it does not cover half of the industry’s employees, Die Welt newspaper cited CDU secretary general Ronald Pofalla as saying.
The Labour Ministry, led by Franz Muentefering from CDU’s coalition partner SPD, insists the bargaining agreement meets the conditions for general validity set forth by the government, Die Welt said.
Deutsche Post chief executive Klaus Zumwinkel claims Pofalla is overstating the number of postal services workers, thus underestimating the percentage covered by the agreement, Die Welt reported.
The government in August said it is planning to declare the wage agreement binding for the entire industry, drawing fierce criticism from logistics companies such as PIN Group AG and TNT NV, which are trying to make inroads into the German mail delivery market dominated by Deutsche Post.
