The ruling rendered on October 30, 2008 by the Court of Cologne is a turning point in the conflict between Ver.di, the services' union, and its competitor, GNBZ, in the postal services sector. Created at the end of 2007, the latter bargained for a lower minimum wage than that negotiated by Ver.di. The judge gave satisfaction to Ver.di, acknowledging the lack of representativeness and independent of the GNBZ from employers' federations. (Ref. 080847)
In Germany, there are two fundamental requirements for an organization to be recognized as a trade union able to bargain for collective agreements. First, the organization concerned must be financially independent from its employers’ interlocutors and, on the other hand, be representative, i.e. have enough members to legitimize its right to bargain for industry-wide agreements. Yet, the ruling rendered by the Court of Cologne pointed out that the GNBZ, which was represented at the trial by a la
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