Thousands of bank employees will be on strike this week in Germany
Berlin, 23 May 2012
Several thousand employees from private and public banks will be participating this week in a strike called by Verdi, the German service industry union. The aim is to put pressure on employers and persuade them to put a reasonable offer on the table for the 220,000 financial sector workers that can serve as basis for negotiations.
“By going on strike, employees are sending a very clear message that they expect an offer that reflects the respect and value that their work deserves”, says Beate Mensch, a member of the Verdi national executive committee. During the third round of negotiations employers tabled a totally unacceptable offer which was limited to a pay increase of less than 1.4% over a twelve month period. That is well below the rate of inflation and would represent a drop in real pay, the Verdi negotiator explained.
Warning strikes took place in Lower Saxony on 10 – 11 May as a result of the breakdown in negotiations after the third round. Strikes also took place in Berlin and Wiesbaden last week. On Tuesday, employees in Karlsruhe followed suit.
On Wednesday this week, employees from the Schwäbisch Hall group stopped work for a full day for the second time during this round of negotiations. On Thursday 24 May, Verdi has called on bank employees in Hamburg and Munich, as well as bank and savings bank employees in the Saarland to come out on strike. There will also be rallies and demonstrations.
Verdi’s chief negotiator, Beate Mensch, will be addressing the strikers in Saarbrücken.
On Friday 25 May, there will be further strikes in Baden Württemberg, at banks in Stuttgart and Mannheim, as well as in Wüstenrot at the Wüstenrot building society, the Wüstenrot Bank and W+W-Service GmbH. In Hesse, employees working in a large number of Frankfurt banks, including the Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen and the Frankfurt Savings Bank have been called out on strike.
As a result of these strikes there will be reduced services in bank branches, and some may even close.
Verdi is calling for a 6% pay rise for all bank employees. Other demands include the adoption of occupational health and safety provisions in the collective agreement, collective provisions to protect financial advisors, a trainee quota of 7%, an agreement that former trainees will be offered permanent jobs, and the extension of the current early retirement regulations.