No agreement was reached on Thursday in collective bargaining negotiations for retailers in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The sixth round in Leipzig ended without a result, said a representative of the Verdi union when asked. Now the warning strikes would be extended until the Christmas season. A new date for another round of negotiations has not yet been set. The trade association could not immediately be reached for comment.
Most recently, the employers offered a tariff increase of 8.4 percent over a period of two years as well as an inflation compensation bonus for the approximately 270,000 employees in the retail and mail order business in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The union, on the other hand, wants to achieve a significantly higher increase and is demanding 2.50 euros more per hour for a period of one year. (dpa)