German postal company "Deutsche Post" announced on Saturday that it has reached a wage agreement with the Ver.di union for service sector workers, which would allow it to avoid an indefinite strike threatened by union members.
The company stated that the offer includes a one-time payment of three thousand euros for its 160,000 employees in Germany within 15 months, along with a monthly wage increase of 340 euros starting from April 1, 2024.
This translates to an overall average wage increase of 11.5%.
The agreement may set a new precedent as unions in other sectors within Europe’s largest economy, such as metals, electricity, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals, have recently accepted wage increases that fall significantly short of the inflation rate. Consumer prices in Germany rose by 9.3 percent year-on-year in February.
Earlier on Saturday, the Ver.di union had called for strikes at airports in northern Germany, including Berlin, on March 13.
