Tariff conflict: Warning strikes started at Deutsche Post on February 27th!

Tariff conflict: Warning strikes started at Deutsche Post on February 27th!

On February 27, 2025, there will be extensive warning strikes in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, which further increase the pressure on Deutsche Post AG (DP AG). The ver.di union called up the employees of the delivery to point out the insufficient employer offers. Tanja Lauer from ver.di criticizes the recent proposals of the company as not sustainable and requires significantly better conditions for the employees.

The offers submitted by DP AG include a salary increase of only 1.8 % from July 1, 2025 and a further 2.0 % from October 2026. In addition, some employees should benefit from an adaptation of the holiday regulation, but the term of the first offer remains until March 31, 2027. In contrast, ver.di calls for a linear salary increase of 7 % over a period of 12 months, three additional vacation days for tariff employees and trainees as well as another vacation day for ver.di members.

Current developments and backgrounds

The youngest warning strikes are part of a larger conflict between ver.di and DP AG. Already on February 4, 2025, employees had strike all day in several federal states. Despite these operating interruptions, the delivery of the election documents for the Bundestag election on February 23, 2025 remains secured. This is a challenge for the election offices and the employees concerned, since in the last election almost half of the voters returned to the postal voting.

With the strikes, ver.di would like to draw attention to the high inflation and the increased cost of living. Andrea Kocsis from ver.di indicates the below -average income of the employees at DP AG, which remain in Germany compared to the middle income. The demands for a 7 % tariff increase therefore reflect the economic needs of the employees.

affected locations and further steps

The warning strikes affect numerous delivery locations. In Rhineland-Palatinate, Bad Kreuznach, Bingen, Mainz-Hechtsheim and Wöllstein are affected. In Saarland, Eppelborn and Neunkirchen are among the cities concerned. The next round of collective bargaining will take place on March 3 and 4, 2025, whereby the union hopes for an agreement to prevent further disputes.

In the past collective bargaining, conflicts and strikes were not uncommon, which was also the case in other industries. In 2024, for example, high wage demands and economic stagnation shaped the situation, which led to unions tried to compensate for real wage losses through the high inflation. The conflict in DP AG is therefore part of a larger pattern that affects numerous collective bargaining in different sectors.

The negotiations and the upcoming warning strikes illustrate the urgent needs of the employees and the challenges that employers look for. It remains to be seen whether the upcoming negotiation rounds can bring a solution that meet both the requirements of the employees and the possibilities of DP AG.