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| strikes at German and French ports |
Pressure has increased for shipping companies in northern Europe, with labor tensions also rising, with port workers affiliated with the German trade union ver.di threatening to stage a strike at the country's main hubs.
A series of strikes were held at docks in Bremerhaven, Hamburg, Bremen and Emden after talks with the Central Association of German Seaport Operators (ZDS) ended without success last week.
The German trade union said it was unable to secure a €3 increase in hourly wages for port workers, effective June 1, as well as a corresponding increase in shift bonuses, including compensation for the lack of an increase in shift bonuses at work. 2022 Collective Bargaining Agreement.”
Negotiations will continue in Hamburg on June 17 and 18, and the union said that in 2022, warning strikes that accompanied the talks led to “the ports being paralyzed for approximately 80 hours.”
“The workers are disappointed and angry because the employers did not show any concessions, but only pointed to their difficult economic situation and competition with foreign ports,” said Ver.di negotiator Maren Ulbrich. “By doing so, they did not show any appreciation for the employees’ work.”
In France, trade unions representing dockworkers and other port workers staged several one-day strikes, as well as several four-hour walkouts this month, to protest pension reform that raised the legal retirement age.
More 24-hour strikes are scheduled for June 21 and 25, and four-hour strikes on three days of each week this month, in Le Havre, Marseille-Foss, Dunkirk, Rouen, Bordeaux and Nantes-Saint-Nazaire.
The measure could be extended until July if the unions do not receive a satisfactory response from the government to their demands.
If strikes coincide in Le Havre, Hamburg and Bremerhaven, Antwerp and Rotterdam could be overwhelmed by northern European shipping companies looking to shift their capacity to fully operational ports
https://theloadstar.com/more-strikes-at-german-and-french-ports-could-bring-congestion-and-delays/
