The slump in consumption in Germany is apparently making Germany’s last major department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof difficult to create. The retail chain announced on Friday that, in view of the tense economic situation, it had unilaterally terminated the integration collective agreement concluded with the Verdi union after the merger of Karstadt and Kaufhof. The aim is to “stabilize the company again in the long term”. The “Handelsblatt” had previously reported on it.
The company emphasized that the possibility of taking this step is expressly provided for in such cases in the collective agreement. But that doesn’t mean that Galeria is no longer bound by a collective agreement, it said. The consequences of this termination were, on the one hand, the “freezing” of remuneration at the current wage level and, on the other hand, the obligation to negotiate with Verdi in order to adapt the collective bargaining path to the new situation.
The collective agreement was signed after the merger of Karstadt and Kaufhof and not only secured the preservation of locations, but also salary increases for the employees in line with the area collective agreement.
Galeria general works council chairman Jürgen Ettl told the German Press Agency that the step had no immediate impact. However, the actually intended gradual approximation of wages and salaries to the collective bargaining level will be disturbed for the time being.
Verdi and Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof could not initially be reached for a statement. (dpa)