German labour union Ver.di called another round of “warning strikes” at the major container ports starting on Tuesday and continuing into Wednesday ahead of the next round of wage and contract negotiations. The union openly says its objective is to pressure terminal operators represented by ZDS (Zentralverband der deutschen Seehafenbetriebe) into a deal, while calling the previous offers “inadequate” to keep up with inflation and the demands of the job.
Dockworkers staged a series of strikes during June tied to each of the three prior rounds of negotiations. Under German labour law, the union is free to call these short-duration “warning strikes” without conducting full votes of the membership each time. Negotiations began in May on the new contract for 11,500 employees at German North Sea ports.
Workers at the port of Hamburg walked off the job on Tuesday morning, July 9, at the start of the first shift of the day, and began protests in the port area. This strike was scheduled to continue through all three shifts on Wednesday, with Ver.di reporting there would also be a larger protest rally on Wednesday.
The port of Bremen/Bremerhaven joined in the strike on Tuesday afternoon with its walkout scheduled to continue till the first shift on Wednesday. While Bremerhaven was due to resume work, dockworkers at the westernmost seaport of Edem were due to walk off the job for the full shift on Wednesday.
Read more in an article from The Maritime Executive.