Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: collective bargaining in local public transport started

Rostock (dpa/mv) - Collective bargaining began on Wednesday in Rostock for around 2,400 employees in local public transport companies in MV.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: collective bargaining in local public transport started

Rostock (dpa/mv) - Collective bargaining began on Wednesday in Rostock for around 2,400 employees in local public transport companies in MV. The Verdi trade union set out its demands, which the municipal employers' association (KAV) rejected as too high.

As Verdi negotiator Karl-Heinz Pliete said, the package of demands includes, among other things, a wage increase of two euros per hour for a period of one year, a minimum rest period of twelve hours or a reduction in working hours to 38 hours a week with full wage compensation.

According to KAV information, these demands correspond to an increase of around 18 percent and are thus far above the inflation rate. That cannot be implemented, said association manager Carola Freier. The KAV offer consists, among other things, of salary increases of five percent from July. In addition, the tariffs should increase by two percent in July 2023 and 2024. In addition, the KAV would have offered to reduce working hours to 39 hours per week.

"We assume that we will get closer," said Pliete. The offer from the employers goes in the right direction, but there is still a lot missing. There will still be some negotiation dates. Talks are scheduled to resume on August 31, 2022.