Overview
- The 24‑hour warning strikes began Monday evening and continued into Tuesday at Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Bremen, Wilhelmshaven, Emden and Brake, with large pickets and a planned demonstration in the Port of Hamburg.
- Umschlagsfirmen including Eurogate, HHLA and J. Müller Weser reported that terminal work was widely reduced or stopped and that ship handling was temporarily not possible at several locations.
- The dispute centers on pay and contract length: ver.di demands an 8.2% hourly increase (at least €2.50 per hour) for a 12‑month contract while the employers’ ZDS offer is 5.1% over 19 months plus one‑off payments and higher allowances.
- Both sides have agreed to meet for a third bargaining round on the coming Monday and Tuesday in Hamburg, but core positions on percentage increases and contract duration remain far apart.
- The round affects about 11,000 port workers and risks short‑term disruption to import and export flows because limited rail capacity and low inland‑water levels make alternative transport routes constrained.