At the same time, Kaufland employees in Suhl and Hildburghausen went on strike. “On Monday and Tuesday, employees from various Kaufländer, H&M fashion stores, netto and Aldi in the Leipzig area went on strike. In Burgstädt, the employees of Kaufland left the store after a works meeting,” said ver.di negotiator Jörg Lauenroth-Mago. “It annoys us how employers drag themselves from one negotiation to another without really moving. The atmosphere among the employees is heated. In the last 20 months there has been an increase in sales in retail like never before and employers are hiding behind the crisis and refusing fair offers".
"There is resistance to this blocking attitude on the part of employers in all parts of Thuringia. Today the strike rally is taking place in front of the Suhler Kaufland. Here, too, the employees are completely upset about how little increase they should get for so much more work," says ver.di strike leader Matthias Adorf.
“Strikes will continue in various regions of Central Germany until the end of the week. With these strikes, we want to increase the pressure on the collective bargaining, which will continue in Leipzig on October 4th," says Lauenroth-Mago.
"It is clear to us that there must be a genuine increase in real wages this year. There will be no two-class society with us,” said ver.di negotiator Jörg Lauenroth-Mago.
In the retail and mail order business, employers offer 2% on August 1st and a so-called corona bonus of 150 euros in the first year with 2 zero months. In the second year, 1.4% will be offered in retail by 6/1/22.
Ver.di is demanding, among other things, an increase in wages and salaries by 4.5 percent plus 45 euros per month. In addition, a pensionable minimum wage of EUR 12.50 per hour is to be stipulated. The collective agreements should apply to everyone and must therefore be declared generally binding.
