The service union Verdi has called for preliminary warning strikes at Postbank branch sales locations. These planned work stoppages are scheduled for Thursday and Saturday. According to Verdi, all employees of Postbank Filialvertrieb AG across the country are urged to participate.
These actions are a response to the ongoing, yet unsuccessful, wage negotiations involving approximately 9,000 employees from the former Postbank, now integrated into the Deutsche Bank group. Verdi is demanding an eight percent pay increase, with a minimum guaranteed raise of 300 euros per month, in addition to raising the training benefits by another 200 euros.
Jan Duscheck, Verdi’s chief negotiator for the Postbank collective agreements, stated that the employees are looking for a “clear signal of recognition”. He argued that the employer’s current offer neither reflects the economic status of Deutsche Bank nor the significant workload experienced within the branches.
Beyond just salary development, significant concern surrounds the transformation of the private customer bank. The integration of the Postbank into Deutsche Bank, combined with branch closures and various organizational changes, has created uncertainty among the workforce in multiple areas. The next round of official wage negotiations is set to take place in Frankfurt am Main on May 18th.