The union Verdi is expanding its warning strike campaign against Deutsche Telekom. On Thursday, workers across several German states, including Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Baden-Württemberg, and Bavaria, are expected to cease work.
Previously, sites in North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, and Thuringia were affected on Wednesday, while yesterday’s action covered northern and northeastern Germany. Verdi announced on Wednesday evening that these disruptions mean that customers should anticipate potentially reduced accessibility, delays in technical customer service and fiber optic expansion efforts, and canceled appointments. The union stated that “disruptions for Telekom customers could not be avoided”.
The reason for the escalating strikes is that the employers have reportedly not acknowledged the union’s demands and have submitted no counter-offer thus far. For this year’s collective bargaining round, Verdi is demanding a salary increase of 6.6 percent for a 12-month contract term. Additionally, the union is pushing for the introduction of a “Verdi member bonus” amounting to 660 euros per year.
