German port workers are voting on whether to authorise indefinite strike action after rejecting employers’ latest 12-month pay offer, with the ballot running until 1 October, according to a Hapag-Lloyd operational update.
The ballot requires a 75% rejection threshold for the bargaining round to be declared unsuccessful. If that level is reached, indefinite strike action may follow.
The dispute covers about 11,000 workers at tariff-bound port companies in Brake, Bremen/Bremerhaven, Emden, Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven. More than 5,500 workers took part in an earlier consultation, with 3,578 voting against the offer and 1,945 supporting it. That left 64.7% opposed.
The rejected 12-month proposal from the Central Association of German Seaport Operators (ZDS) included a 3.4% wage increase, an additional €416 ($472.78) annual container allowance and €200 ($227.30) more in holiday pay.
Ver.di is seeking an 8.2% increase in hourly wages, with a minimum rise of €2.50 ($2.84) per hour, under a 12-month agreement.
ZDS also offered an 18-month option with a 5.1% wage increase, a guaranteed minimum rise of €1.20 ($1.36) per hour, a €616 ($700.08) increase in the container allowance to €5,000 ($5,682.50), and €300 ($340.95) more in holiday pay.
The employers’ association has warned that prolonged industrial action could divert cargo to competing European gateways.
The dispute has already triggered a 24-hour warning strike in August and a 48-hour stoppage in early September that disrupted vessel operations, terminal handling and inland cargo movements.
ZDS is Germany’s federal seaport employers’ association and represents around 140 companies involved in sea cargo handling.
Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (ver.di) is a German services trade union with around 1.8 million members across roughly 1,000 occupations.