At the department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, a small part of the workforce took part in warning strikes in North Rhine-Westphalia on Friday to increase the pressure on employers. Locations in Essen, Oberhausen, Mülheim, Aachen, Siegburg, Dortmund, Wuppertal, Krefeld and two each in Duisburg and Münster were on strike. A Verdi spokesman said there were a total of 255 warning strikers. Most of the warning strikers came to a protest rally in Essen. “No business without us” was written on their neon-colored vests and on a large banner “We fight for our future”.
There was no major impact on the operation of the department stores. “All branches were able to open without restrictions and are also there for customers without restrictions,” said a spokesman for the department store chain.
The trade unionist Silke Zimmer emphasized that the workforce had already made big cuts to save the department store group – per full-time position, a salary of 5,500 euros per year had been waived to enable investments in the future of the company. But now you need “a good collective bargaining agreement” that is above the inflation rate. Everyday inflation is hitting employees hard, most of them have hardly any money left to freely dispose of. “Now we finally need another way, the department store only has a future with well-paid and sufficiently available staff.”
Zimmer called on employers to give in. In addition, Verdi will continue to support the locations threatened with closure. “For us it still applies that we fight for every department store and every job.”
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof has had tough times, including insolvency proceedings. With fewer branches than before, the company wants to get back on the road to success. The restructuring plan that came into force at the end of May provides for the closure of around a third of the last 129 branches. Some of the warning strikers came from locations that will soon be closed, such as Siegburg. (dpa)