BONN (dpa-AFX) - Because many postal workers stopped working, every fifth parcel and every eleventh letter was left behind on Saturday, according to the company. Around 13,500 employees took part in the warning strikes in various regions of Germany, a Deutsche Post spokesman said in Bonn on Saturday. That was slightly more than a third of the workforce at the affected sites. According to Verdi, 18,000 postal workers took part. The walkout rate of 20 percent for parcels and 9 percent for letters refers to daily volumes across Germany. However, strikes were not held everywhere. In regions where there were walkouts, the absenteeism rate was higher than the national average.

Union officials expressed satisfaction with the work stoppages. "Things are going well," said Thomas Großstück, Verdi's regional manager in NRW responsible for postal services. Andrea Kocsis, Verdi deputy chairwoman and chief negotiator, said, "The high participation in the strikes makes it clear that our members are fully behind their demands."

The Post spokesman said the warning strike turnout varied across regions and locations, which meant it had a different impact. Delays in the collection and delivery of letters and parcels could mean that items "can only be delivered a few days later, which means in the coming week, depending on the end of the strike activities on site."

Strikes affected delivery in the Bonn area, Bochum and Münsterland, for example - where many letters and parcels were left lying around and not delivered. Mannheim, Stuttgart and Freiburg were also affected.

The union is demanding a 15 percent pay rise for the approximately 160,000 employees in the Post & Parcel Germany sector. The demand is justified among other things with the inflation. According to the union, 140,000 postal workers receive a monthly salary that ranges from 2108 to 3090 euros gross. These pay-scale employees are particularly affected by high inflation, as they have to pay a large proportion of their net income for food and energy, the union argues.

The last wage increase in January 2022 was only two percent, the union says, referring to the current high inflation. The wage demands are "necessary, fair and feasible," says Verdi negotiator Kocsis.

Management, on the other hand, considers the union's demands to be excessive and unfeasible. The company's top management points out that the Group needs financial leeway for investments in order to remain competitive in the long term and to secure jobs. In addition, Deutsche Post points out that the Group's profits are "now largely generated in international business.

In fact, only about one-sixth of Deutsche Post DHL's operating profit (EBIT) was generated with letters and parcels in Germany last year, while this figure is about one-third for staff. The global express and freight businesses have long been much more profitable for Deutsche Post than its core business.

Nevertheless, trade unionists are calling for a substantial pay increase for employees in the German core business, i.e. letter and parcel delivery. The workload of postal workers is high, emphasizes Andreas Henze of Verdi Baden-Württemberg. In delivery and distribution centers, employees are "running on fumes." "They have to work faster and harder for the group's profits," says the regional head of the postal services division. "Their back-breaking job must finally be valued financially."

There had already been work stoppages at the Post last week, and the second wave of warning strikes began on Thursday. On February 8, the collective bargaining is to continue. Then, the Post wants to present its own offer. "Despite the different positions, we assume that we will make progress in fair and speedy talks in the next round of negotiations [...]," said the Post spokesman./wdw/DP/stw