Majority of union members approve new collective agreement for German North Sea ports

Approximately 77% of members of the German trade union ver.di have voted in favour of the preliminary collective bargaining agreement reached in September. The agreement was established during the fifth round of negotiations with the Central Association of German Seaport Companies (ZDS).

The ver.di Federal Collective Bargaining Commission endorsed this outcome during a meeting on 27 September, marking the official commencement of the collective agreement.

Maren Ulbrich, a negotiator for ver.di, expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating: “We have shown a lot of patience in this round of collective bargaining, and it has paid off. Without the significant participation of employees in strikes and actions, we would not have been able to achieve this viable collective agreement.”

The agreement aims to address the wage gap among different wage groups, particularly benefiting those in lower wage brackets. Ulbrich added: “But there are also real wage increases in all other wage groups; everyone has more in their pockets than before.”

Key provisions

The new collective agreement, which will last for 14 months until 31 July 2025, includes several key provisions:

• Employees will receive a tax-free inflation compensation bonus of €1,700, to be distributed in October. Part-time employees will also benefit from this full bonus.
• Effective from 1 October 2024, hourly wages will increase by €1.15.
• There will be substantial increases in shift allowances and pay for work on Sundays and public holidays.
• Holiday pay will rise to €430 starting next year.

The collective agreement, which will be retroactively applied from 1 June 2024 to 31 July 2025, is expected to benefit approximately 11,500 employees working in the German North Sea ports.

Earlier this year, the negotiations were marked by extensive warning strikes across several days, affecting major seaports such as Hamburg, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven, Emden, and Brake.