Pilot Strike Warning Results in Absence of Container Ships at Hamburg Port | MarketScreener

In Hamburg, there won't be any container ships navigating along the Elbe River on Thursday because the port workers are holding a warning strike. The only vessels that are operating are small ones, such as launches. According to a representative of Verdi, the Hamburg Port Authority employees launched the strike on Wednesday night as originally intended. The strike is predicted to continue until 6:00 am on Friday.

On Wednesday morning, the HPA announced that ships that needed pilotage would not be able to access the port of Hamburg as the Elbe was already closed. This decision was made because it would have taken up to eight hours for ships to reach the port from the opening of the Elbe. This meant they would not have made it in time for the strike's official start if they entered later. The strike has been called by the Verdi trade union, which means that the pilot transfer boats are not operating, making it impossible for pilots to board and reach the ships.

The workers are planning a protest strike in order to draw attention to their requests before the upcoming negotiation meetings in Potsdam from March 27 to 29. The union is pushing for a salary increase of 10.5%, or a minimum of €500 more per month, for the nearly 2.5 million government employees across Germany. The employers have currently proposed a gradual five percent salary increase and a single payment of €2,500.