Correspondent in Berlin
Dozens of giant ships each loaded with some 150,000 containers, stuck in the mouth of the Elbe at the entrance to the port of Hamburg.
And in the midst of this logistical turmoil, thousands of maritime employees on strike at the call of the Verdi union to demand a 1.20 euro increase in hourly wages as well as a full catch-up of inflation which reached 8% .
In the land of social harmony and co-management, such a warning strike had never lasted so long in forty years.
The walkouts, which began at 6 a.m. Thursday, will continue through the weekend.
An economic “catastrophe”
, judge the professionals.
"And now the unions are adding a layer to it"
, chokes the popular daily
Bild
.
The image is emblematic but only sums up part of the difficulties encountered by our European neighbour.
Admittedly, all the major European ports are seeing their activity skate, but in Hamburg, the country's window...
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