Verdi, the German service‑trade union, called its roughly 800 employees at the Deutsche Presse Agentur (dpa) to a full‑day strike on Friday. The walkout will affect the agency itself, its regional offices, the Berlin newsroom and the subsidiaries in that area.
The warning strike is intended to reinvigorate stalled collective bargaining talks that are being conducted between Verdi, DJV and dpa management. Verdi negotiator Matthias von Fintel described the action as “historical”. It marks the first all‑day work stoppage in the agency’s history; the previous major strike was a brief two‑hour walkout in 2019.
Union demands include a fixed monthly salary increase of €250 for 2026, followed by a 2.5 % raise in 2027, to be applied over an 18‑month period. dpa’s most recent offer in the second round of negotiations proposed a 2.3 % percentage increase for 2026 or an alternative flat raise of €110 per month, with a 2.5 % increase for 2027. In the following two negotiation rounds, up to the most recent meeting on 17 March, dpa made no further offers to staff. The fifth round of talks is scheduled for 27 March in Berlin.