BONN (dpa-AFX) - At Deutsche Post, the collective bargaining for about 160,000 employees in Germany will go into the second round this Wednesday. The start was on January 6, the positions are still far apart: the union Verdi demands a pay increase of 15 percent and justifies this with the high inflation and the high work input of the employees. The Post Board considers the demand unrealistic. The meeting is scheduled for two days. There could be warning strikes in the coming weeks if Verdi wants to increase the pressure. Deutsche Post DHL is highly profitable, but the focus of its business is abroad.

Verdi's chief negotiator, Andrea Kocsis, said ahead of the second round that they would "go into depth" in negotiations on Wednesday. The Post had made it clear that it was interested in a very long contract term, namely until mid-2025. Verdi, on the other hand, only wants a collective agreement valid for 12 months.

One expects "a big step forward" in the round of talks, Kocsis said. If this does not happen, it will be decided "whether we need to press our demand in the plants." This means warning strikes. The smaller trade union DPVKOM is already using this means on a small scale: On Tuesday, there was a warning strike in Karlsruhe./wdw/DP/stw