As of: March 29, 2024, 6:42 a.m
By: Carmen Mörwald
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Shortly before Easter, Verdi calls for strikes at Lidl and Kaufland. However, according to spokespersons for the two supermarket chains, this should not have any impact on customers. © Katerina Sulova/CTK Photo/IMAGO
Verdi called for a strike in retail and wholesale trade on Maundy Thursday. Lidl and Kaufland are particularly affected. Do customers have to worry about standing in front of a locked door?
Munich – Just a few days before Easter, Verdi is calling on retail and wholesale workers to go on strike. The Schwarz Group's Lidl and Kaufland supermarket chains are particularly affected. According to a spokesman for the union, it cannot be ruled out that there could also be strikes at other trading companies on Maundy Thursday, March 28th. So are supermarket customers facing closed doors just before the holidays?
Strike at Lidl and Kaufland: These are the effects of the strike on Thursday for customers
The collective bargaining manager of the German Trade Association (HDE), Steven Haarke, does not expect any noticeable effects for customers. “Trading companies have proven in recent months that they can handle strikes well,” he said. The industry had prepared well for Easter business and had already proven before Christmas that it could cope with strikes. The HDE expects sales of around 2.2 billion euros for the entire Easter period.
The consequences of the strike will therefore remain manageable for the time being. A spokeswoman for Kaufland also confirmed this: “The branches are open normally and are being delivered. Consumers can shop as usual.” According to a report from the
German Press Agency,
the industrial action has so far resulted in a few empty shelves. However, there were no store closures.
When asked by
IPPEN.MEDIA
, a Lidl spokeswoman denied that products were missing from the range due to the strike: “The availability of goods is ensured. There are no restrictions for customers nationwide.” She also referred to the working conditions. “Lidl was the first food retailer in Germany to introduce an internal minimum starting wage in January 2010, which has been gradually increased in recent years and is currently at least 14 euros per hour.”
Wages were increased voluntarily: Is the strike at Lidl and Kaufland justified?
Recently, some trading companies, including the Schwarz Group, announced that they would increase the wages of their employees. The food retailers followed a recommendation from the HDE to voluntarily increase wages before an official collective bargaining agreement and to later offset this against the collective bargaining agreement. Lidl confirmed this when asked. “In view of the ongoing collective bargaining in the retail sector, we are once again making advance payments,” said the spokeswoman.
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Collective bargaining for the approximately five million retail workers has been stalling for months. Even numerous warning strikes could not change the messy situation. Verdi demands, among other things, at least 2.50 euros more per hour in retail and a term of one year. After the wage increase, the union criticized the trade association for trying to “break the will to strike by announcing voluntary wage increases.”
Verdi also accuses the retail companies of refusing to negotiate in the collective bargaining dispute. HDE collective bargaining manager Haarke has a clear opinion on this: “As employers, we presented an offer in the first round of negotiations in Baden-Württemberg almost a year ago and improved it three more times during the further course of the collective bargaining round.” This offer would have led to real real wage increases , especially since inflation is falling, he explained.
(cln/dpa)