Operations at Germany’s major North Sea ports are going to be impacted as workers have gone on strike once again to fight for more pay.
This is the third strike in a matter of only a few weeks, as a sixth round of wage negotiations between the ver.di union and the Central Association of German Seaport Companies ended without the parties reaching an agreement.
According to ver.di, workers on the early shift at Bremen and Bremerhaven ports stopped working at 6am. The strike will go on until 6am on Saturday, making it the longest strike in 40 years.
The union, which represents 12,000 workers at the seaports, has demanded a one-year deal for a 14% increase across the 58 collective bargaining companies , as well as a yearly bonus to make up for inflation.
During the sixth round of negotiations, employers had offered a 12.5% increase over the next two years. The union felt that the offer failed to compensate workers for inflation.
With the strike going on for 48 hours, it is bound to cause more congestion to ports at a time when the world is already seeing a significant number of issues in the global supply chain.
