The trade union Verdi has called for initial warning strikes among employees of the Postbank branch network. These planned work stoppages are scheduled for Thursday and Saturday, and Verdi announced on Tuesday that all Postbank Branch Sales employees nationwide are urged to participate.
The strikes are set against the backdrop of ongoing, yet unsuccessful, wage negotiations involving the roughly 9,000 employees who once worked for the Postbank within the Deutsche Bank group. Verdi is demanding an eight percent salary increase, or a minimum of 300 euros per month, in addition to a 200-euro raise in training allowances.
Jan Duscheck, Verdi’s lead negotiator for the bank’s collective agreements, stated that the employees expect a “clear signal of appreciation”. He noted that the current proposal from the employer side neither reflects the actual financial situation of Deutsche Bank nor the high workload experienced in the branches.
Beyond just salary adjustments, the negotiations also heavily focus on the broader transformation of the private client bank. The merger of the Postbank into Deutsche Bank, coupled with branch closures and major organizational restructuring, has created considerable uncertainty among the staff. The next major round of talks is scheduled to take place on May 18th in Frankfurt am Main.
