As of: March 28, 2024, 8:24 a.m
By: Marcel Reich
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Strikes at Lidl on Kaufland: Collective bargaining for around five million retail employees has been stagnating for months. © Christian Johner/dpa
The Verdi union has called for warning strikes in retail and wholesale. Lidl and Kaufland could be particularly affected.
Frankfurt – In the week before Easter, the Verdi union called on retail and wholesale employees to go on warning strikes. According to Verdi, the supermarket chains Lidl and Kaufland will be targeted on Maundy Thursday. As a spokesman for Verdi explained, strikes have been announced in several hundred companies in the Schwarz Group, which also includes Lidl and Kaufland. Not only branches and warehouses could be affected, other retail companies could also experience warning strikes. In the past, Edeka and Rewe have already gone on strike during action weeks.
Although the labor dispute occasionally led to empty shelves, store closures remained the exception. Steven Haarke, collective bargaining manager of the German Trade Association (HDE), does not assume that the strikes will have a noticeable impact on customers. “The trading companies have proven in the last few months that they can cope well with strikes,” said Haarke. He emphasized that the industry was well prepared for Easter business and had already shown during the Christmas period that it could cope with strikes.
Some trading companies announce wage increases
A Kaufland representative commented on the warning strikes: “The branches are open normally and deliveries are being made. Consumers can shop as usual.” Lidl could not initially be reached for comment. The Thursday before the long Easter weekend is a particularly important sales day for retailers in Germany. The HDE expects sales of 2.2 billion euros for the entire Easter business, based on a representative survey of around 1,000 consumers.
Collective bargaining for the approximately five million retail workers has been stagnating for months. Despite numerous warning strikes, the deadlock could not be resolved. Verdi is demanding, among other things, at least 2.50 euros more per hour in retail in all regions and a term of one year.
HDE collective bargaining manager Haarke explained: “As an employer, we presented an offer in the first round of negotiations in Baden-Württemberg almost a year ago and improved it three more times in the further course of the collective bargaining round.” He emphasized that this offer would have led to real real wage increases, especially as inflation is falling.
Some trading companies, including the Schwarz Group based in Neckarsulm in Baden-Württemberg, have recently announced that they will increase the wages of their employees. The food retailers followed a recommendation from the HDE to voluntarily increase salaries before an official collective agreement and to later offset this increase against the collective agreement.
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With material from dpa