Germany: Deliveries delayed as postal workers strike
January 20, 2023
Thousands of postal workers went on strike on Friday around Germany, amid stalling negotiations for pay increases.
Deutsche Post warned on Friday there would be "a delay of a few days" for the delivery of some letters and packages. It said that a total of 2.3 million packages and 13 million letters were affected.
It also said that there were regional fluctuations in terms of participation, and therefore in the level of disruption.
How many postal workers went on strike?
The protests began overnight heading into the early hours of Friday morning after the strike was announced late on Thursday.
The Deutsche Post DHL Group said 16,700 postal workers had taken part, roughly a third of the number of employees that would normally be working in Germany on that day. That figure was slightly higher than the 15,000 that major trade union Verdi had said it hoped would participate.
"The strikes are a clear sign from our members towards [their] employer," Verdi lead negotiator Andrea Kocsis said.
Verdi, meanwhile, on Friday called on its members to extend the strike into Saturday nationwide.
What is behind the postal strikes?
The union and the Bonn-based company are deadlocked in pay negotiations, with Verdi calling for a 15% increase for its members, to stand for a period of 12 months.
Much of this Verdi says is necessary to compensate for inflation and accused the company of unfairness amid record 2022 profits. After the third quarter of 2022, the company raised its estimate for full-year earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to €8.4 billion (roughly $9 billion).
Deutsche Post has called the 15% figure unrealistic and is also looking to negotiate a longer running time for a potential agreement.
A third round of negotiations is scheduled for February 8 and 9 at present. Deutsche Post had said it wanted to bring a new offer to the table then.
With almost 1.9 million members working in an array of industries, Verdi is Germany's second-largest trade union by membership.
msh/rt (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
This article has been updated. An earlier version of the article stated that roughly a third of the employees of the whole of Deutsche Post DHL had gone on strike. The new version reflects that this was roughly a third of the number of employees that would normally be working in Germany on the day of the strike.