Union demands fresh talks as Deutsche Post strike rumbles on
German union Ver.di has said indefinite strike action has expanded to 31,000 employees at Deutsche Post as the conflict entered its third week. The industrial action began after a sixth round of negotiations with the country’s universal postal service provider failed on 2nd June.
Ver.di said the dispute over wages and working conditions for 140,000 public employees at Deutsche Post has affected mail and parcel delivery activities and also mail and parcel sorting centres.
Andrea Kocsis, the union’s deputy chairman and chief negotiator, yesterday called for Deutsche Post to get back to the negotiating table.
“By breaching their contract, the workers have lost confidence in their employer,” she claimed. “That’s a big problem. Deutsche Post cannot afford to have this conflict with its employees, therefore we need an agreement at the negotiating table covering all aspects.”
Conflict between the union and Deutsche Post came following claims that the postal giant breached its collective bargaining agreement regarding the outsourcing of work.
Deutsche Post re-structured its operations into 49 regional companies which the union has said it used to get around the national contract provisions.
Ver.di demanded in April that a new deal should see a shortening of the working week for its members to 36 hours with no corresponding loss of pay.
Contingency
On Friday Deutsche Post insisted it was providing the “best possible” customer service despite the indefinite strike action. The company claimed that “extensive” contingency plans meant about 80% of its letters and parcels were still being delivered on time.
The impact of strike action was “very different” from region to region, the company said, because of different staff participation in the industrial dispute.
Deutsche Post said in a statement it was providing daily updates to customers on delivery areas being affected by the strike via a dedicated web page.
The company has also been steering customer towards its Epost digital mail services and DHL Express services as alternatives for important shipments that cannot risk delays.
