A public employees strike supported by thousands of workers across Germany this week, has closed the Port of Hamburg, the country’s busiest seaport and the second-busiest port in Europe.
Maritime Executive reports that port officials began limiting vessel movements on the Elbe River on Wednesday morning until further notice, before closing the port for all departing vessels later in the day. The strike is expected to continue until at least Friday morning.
Thousands of trade union members are expected to protest in a mass action march in the Hamburg city centre on Thursday. The union has also called for workers at Hamburg’s airport to join the strike after security workers walked off the job last month, briefly shutting down operations at the airport.
Germany’s Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (United Services Union or ver.di) announced the “warning strike” after its ongoing wage dispute for state and federal public workers remained unresolved. The union called for a national stayaway across Germany, claiming on its social media accounts on Wednesday that “thousands of federal and local employees in many cities and communities are still on strike today for the common demands in the current collective bargaining round”.
The union’s wage negotiations with public-sector employers are only expected to resume in Potsdam on March 27. Ver.di is demanding a 10.5% wage increase, or at least €500 more per month for approximately 2.5 million public-sector employees. However, the government has offered 5% in two tranches, and a once-off payment of approximately €2 500.
Operators of the pilot tenders serving Hamburg and the Elbe announced that they would be joining the srike, which media reports indicated included as many as 16 000 workers, such as hospital staff, day-care centre workers, city sanitation, and other public-service employees.
“It will not be possible for pilots to board vessels coming into the port during the strike period,” GAC, the shipping, logistics, and marine services provider, warned customers in its GAC Hot Port News.
According to port rules, all vessels larger than 90 metres (295 feet) or with a beam greater than 13 metres (42 feet) must use a marine pilot for navigation in the harbour and along the River Elbe. However, smaller vessels are not required to use a pilot and can still operate in the port.
Other maritime services that will be impacted include movable bridges, barrages, and the old Elbe tunnel in St. Pauli.
Almost 120 million tons of cargo moved through the Port of Hamburg in 2022, which received more than 7 000 vessel calls during the year.
