KARLSRUHE (dpa-AFX) - In the struggle for a new collective agreement at Deutsche Post, the communications union DPV has called for warning strikes in Karlsruhe and the surrounding area. The strike will run from Thursday morning until Saturday evening, the DPVKOM announced.

The organization is demanding an eight percent pay increase for the approximately 170,000 mail carriers, parcel delivery drivers, sorters and other postal workers in Germany. The larger competing union Verdi is demanding seven percent. From management's point of view, such wage increases would not be economically feasible for the company, after all, letter volumes are shrinking in the digital age and the need for investment in climate-friendly logistics is high.

The warning strike is about the so-called post office branch in Karlsruhe, which, among other things, includes the parcel delivery base in Karlsruhe-Knielingen and delivery bases in Rastatt (Baden-Württemberg), Bad Bergzabern and Landau (both in Rhineland-Palatinate).

From the company locations in this branch area, where a total of around 6,000 postal workers work according to the DPVKOM, deliveries are made to municipalities such as Hauenstein (Rhineland-Palatinate) and to cities such as Crailsheim, Sinsheim, Baden-Baden, Pforzheim and Heilbronn (Baden-Wuerttemberg).

The union estimates that up to 20,000 parcels and more than 10,000 letters will not be delivered in the coming days in northern Baden and southern Palatinate due to the warning strike.

On Wednesday, DPVKOM expects several hundred employees to attend a protest rally in Landau. The collective bargaining between the postal service and the Verdi trade union began on Tuesday.

By far the most influential union at the post office is Verdi, which is the company's collective bargaining partner and conducts the corresponding negotiations. The agreement applies to all employees covered by the collective agreement, not only to Verdi members, but also to DPVKOM members and employees who are not members of a union.

The DPVKOM was formerly known as the German Postal Union, but in 1997 it was renamed the DPV Communications Union (abbreviated to DPVKOM). Neither union publishes the number of its members at the post office – but it is clear that Verdi has significantly more members. The DPVKOM is stronger in some regions than in others, for example in Magdeburg and Karlsruhe.

Even before the start of negotiations, there were work stoppages elsewhere in Germany, namely at the Magdeburg branch of the postal service, which is responsible for Saxony-Anhalt and the southeastern part of Lower Saxony. After the one-day warning strike, a Post Office spokesperson said there had been only a minimal impact. Mail that was left behind on the day of the warning strike was delivered a day late.