Dock workers at Germany’s North Sea ports went on strike March 23 in the latest of several walkouts that have added pressures on shipping as their union demands a hefty pay rise to counter high inflation.
Associated Press reports that the 48-hour strike, which is to end on the morning of March 25, has largely paralyzed cargo handling at major ports including Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven, first reported by news agency dpa. It follows a 24-hour walkout in June 2022, and a previous one-shift warning strike.
However, there will be no further strikes before late August under a deal reached at the labor court in Hamburg on March 23, the court said. The agreement calls for the two sides to set three further dates for negotiations up to August 26. Courts in several cities had rejected bids by employers for injunctions halting the current strike.
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So far, seven rounds of negotiations haven’t produced any results. The ver.di union has been calling for a one-year deal that would include a raise of €1.20 ($1.30) per hour for around 12,000 employees in Hamburg, Bremen and Lower Saxony state, plus a 7.4% increase to balance out inflation.
The dispute comes as shipping already has been disrupted by a variety of issues, including the Coronavirus restrictions in China.
