Lock workers throughout the western parts of the country are protesting against an upcoming reform of publicly managed water ways and canal systems, in which a quarter of the staff is expected to be laid off. The lock workers walked off the job, bringing shipping to a standstill. Shipping companies have condemned both the reform plan and the strike. Strikes in the eastern states have been held off due to recovery works from the recent floods. The latest news is that the workers have decided to take a pause to give the country's Transport and Interior ministers a chance to rethink and offer to negotiate a wage and security pact for 12,500-person workforce.
English: http://www.platts.com/latest-news/shipping/bonn/german-lock-workers-to-return ...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/05/us-germany-canal-shipping ...
http://www.platts.com/latest-news/shipping/bonn/german-lock-strikes-pile-up-waiting-lines ...
http://www.platts.com/latest-news/shipping/bonn/lock-worker-strikes-on-german-river-canal ...
For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) cbn-aias@uva.nl or the communications officer at the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. For previous issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit http://www.etui.org/E-Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net.