Trade union 'Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft' (ver.di) has announced that it is expanding strike action in the Baden-Württemberg retail sector, in order to achieve higher wages and training allowances for the state's retailers.
The previous collective agreement was terminated by ver.di on March 31, and the group is now negotiating with the Baden-Württemberg trade association.
Collective Bargaining
These measures are part of an ongoing collective bargaining round, ver.di said.
In the Stuttgart area, the fourth consecutive week of warning strikes is taking place, and today strikers from several cities will travel there for a joint demonstration and rally.
Other affected cities include Heidelberg and Mannheim, as well as Heilbronn and Karlsruhe.
Additionally, employees from more than 40 companies like H&M, Zara, Kaufland and Primark are involved, with strikes set to affect the shopping on the long weekend.
Among others, ver.di is seeking an increase in average wages of 6.5% and an increase of training allowances by €100 per month, as well as a minimum wage of 2,100€.
Employers are offering increases of 1.5% from April 1, and another 1% a year later as well as corresponding increases for trainees, the trade union said.
This offer was rejected by ver.di in the last round of negotiations as being far too low and the third round is going to take place on June 12.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Jana Zimmermann. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
