German dockworkers will soon vote on a deal agreed between their union and port employers, after five rounds of negotiations, and action that saw trains locked out of the Port of Hamburg September 6 and through the weekend.
The Loadstar reports that the union representing the port workers, Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (Ver.di), has recommended workers accept an offer from the Central Association of German Seaport Enterprises (ZDS).
If accepted, the back-dated deal will span 14 months to August 2025 and will result in an increase of €1.15 ($1.27) per hour as of October, and include a €430 bump in holiday pay.
Furthermore, standard overtime and overtime for public holidays and Sundays will be pushed up, and all employees, whether part-time or full-time, will receive a tax- and duty-free inflation compensation bonus of €1,700 in October 2024.
In a statement, the union said the results of the survey will be known before the end of the month, with the Ver.di Federal Tariff Commission set to meet on September 27, during which time it “will decide on the offer based on the results of the member survey”.
Some rail operators were locked out of the Port of Hamburg on the morning of September 6. Rail freight operator Metrans informed customers September 6 that “the situation of the last days and weeks at the terminals of the Port of Hamburg has escalated again. This morning, we have been informed that the Port of Hamburg has issued restrictions and is not accepting trains.”
An update September 9 said: “Although the terminals are currently operating according to the slot schedules, the number of train hold-ups to Hamburg persists due to overcrowded infrastructure on the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) side.”
