The Central Association of German Seaport Companies (ZDS)
and German union ver.di have reached agreement on wage increases which should
bring to an end a long-running dispute that has heavily disrupted operations at
some of Germany’s biggest container ports.
About 12,000 employees in Germany’s North Sea ports will receive
significant increases in pay.
A series of 24-hour strikes by ver.di in June followed by
a 48-hour strike in July had shut down container terminals in Hamburg, Bremerhaven,
and Wilhelmshaven.
However, the dispute between dockworkers and employers in
the UK’s largest container port Felixstowe shows no sign of coming to an end.
An eight-day stoppage came to a conclusion on Monday August 29th, but Hutchison
Ports (UK), the owner of the company that operates the port, and union Unite
have intensified their media campaigns.
The Felixstowe stoppage meant that more than 10,000 teu a
day had to be diverted to other ports in the UK or Northern Europe. The strike,
and the threat of future action, has led to concerns that consumer and
manufacturing goods supplies could be disrupted in the run-up to Christmas.
James Hookham, director of the Global Shippers Forum,
said that “the goods are moving now to be in position for the three
traditional peaks in retail sales: Halloween, Black Friday, and Christmas. So a
prolonged strike has the potential to disrupt flows of goods to the country’s
shops and stores at a critical period”.
