The Verdi union is once again calling on employees of the online fashion retailer Zalando to go on a warning strike in its logistics centers in Erfurt and Mönchengladbach. According to Verdi, employees should stop work at the start of the morning shift. The strike is scheduled to end at the end of the shift on Saturday, it is said.
The background is the ongoing dispute over the recognition of collective agreements in retail and mail order for employees. Verdi also said that these would mean, among other things, more than ten percent higher wages for those affected compared to the current Zalando level.
“Zalando is generating hundreds of millions of euros this year and recently concluded a deal with the German Football Association for sponsorship worth 65 million euros. At the same time, the company is not prepared to grant its employees fair and reliable working conditions,” criticized Matthias Adorf, trade union secretary of the ver.di union for the trade department.
According to the union, around 70 employees in the early shift in Erfurt stopped work, and another 120 in Mönchengladbach. According to its own information, Zalando employs a total of 2,700 people at its Erfurt location and a further 1,800 in Mönchengladbach. The majority of you are not taking part in the industrial action, so the company does not expect any restrictions on ongoing logistics operations, said a spokeswoman for the German Press Agency. The company respects the work of unions, but relies on internal solutions, it goes on to say. Salaries at the Erfurt location have increased by 14.5 percent since 2024, and in Mönchengladbach by 13.4 percent in the same period. The vacation entitlement has also been increased to up to 30 days, and there are additional benefits such as vacation and Christmas bonuses.
According to Verdi, this is the sixth warning strike at Zalando this year. “We have nothing against internal company solutions. We would also conclude an in-house collective agreement,” replies Adorf. The Verdi union secretary accuses Zalando of wanting to systematically keep the union out of the company. So far there has been no offer of talks.