Verdi calls 48-hour warning strikes across German seaports over wage dispute
The Verdi trade union has called 48-hour warning strikes across German North Sea ports after workers rejected an employer wage increase offer of 5.1%.
Coordinated walkouts across North Sea terminals
Trade union Verdi has issued a call for a second wave of warning strikes across German seaports, scheduling coordinated walkouts from Wednesday evening through Friday evening. The labor dispute impacts maritime cargo hubs in Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven, Brake, Bremen, and Emden. In the Port of Hamburg, the 48-hour stoppage begins with the late shift on Wednesday and involves staff across more than a dozen operating enterprises. Key facilities affected by the call include the Altenwerder, Burchardkai, and Tollerort container terminals run by Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), alongside the Eurogate container terminal and the Gesamthafenbetriebs-Gesellschaft. In Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven, as well as at J. Müller facilities in Brake and Bremen, employees also stop work starting with the Wednesday late shift. Operations at BLG-Cargo in Bremen and EVAG in Emden are scheduled to halt on Thursday morning.
- Dockworkers hold 24-hour warning strike across German North Sea ports
- Verdi calls second warning strike starting with Wednesday late shift
- Strike action expands to cargo facilities in Bremen and Emden
- Workers hold port rallies in Hamburg and Bremerhaven before strike ends
Competing wage demands and employer proposals
The renewed strike activity stems from an unresolved collective bargaining round between Verdi and the Central Association of German Seaport Operators (ZDS). During the third round of talks, employers submitted an offer containing a 5.1% wage increase retroactive to 1 August 2026, structured across an 18-month contract duration. The ZDS proposal also included a guaranteed minimum wage rise of €1.20 per hour. Verdi rejected these terms as inadequate, insisting on an 8.2% pay increase across a shorter 12-month contract duration, accompanied by a minimum wage increase of €2.50 per hour. In a week-long feedback survey organized by the union, more than 6,000 employees voted by a wide majority to reject the employers' offer.
This offer is not enough. The employers cannot simply ignore that.
- Verdi demand
- 8.2 %
- ZDS offer
- 5.1 %
Stalled talks and planned demonstrations
This stoppage follows an earlier 24-hour warning strike on 18 August 2026, which involved thousands of workers and previously slowed or halted cargo handling across the North Sea ports. Employers have argued that meeting the union's requested financial terms would place excessive strain on terminal companies. Torben Seebold, an executive board member at HHLA and chief negotiator for the employers, said the association had reached the limit of its economic capacity and warned that an agreement exceeding that boundary would permanently endanger port businesses and domestic maritime employment. Union leadership responded by pointing to an absence of communication regarding upcoming rounds of discussions.
We are still waiting for a new negotiation date. Those who do not want to come to the negotiating table must feel the pressure from the streets. That is why we are now stopping work.
Alongside the production halts, port workers have organized demonstrations for the final day of the strike action on Friday. In Hamburg, protesting workers are scheduled to assemble at 9:00 a.m. at the Burchardkai container terminal parking area before marching through port territory. In Bremerhaven, employees have been called to assemble for a midday protest rally in the city centre. The warning strikes across Bremen, Lower Saxony, and Hamburg are scheduled to conclude on Friday evening.
