German union Ver.di announced that the wage agreement reached with Deutsche Post on April 30, 2008,has been overwhelmingly approved by its members at Deutsche Post.
Ver.di put the tariff negotiation results for its members to vote on from May 13-15, 2008 andachieved an 82.7% approval. “The good result shows the high level of solidarity between the Ver.dimembers,” Andrea Kocsis, deputy Ver.di chairman and head of postal issues, said. “This unity is ourstrength.”
Under the last-minute wage agreement, which prevented an all-out postal strike in Germany,Deutsche Post employees will receive a one-time payment of €200 as well as a 4% salary increasefrom November 1, 2008 and a further 3% rise in December 2009.
The official working week was kept at 38.5 hours but paid breaks will be shortened so thatemployees will work about 50 minutes more each week. In addition, Deutsche Post and Verdi reached aconsensus on extending the existing employment pact, which rules off layoffs, by 39 months to June30, 2011.
