HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - The trade union Verdi is continuing its campaign against the entry of the world's largest shipping company MSC into the Hamburg port logistics company HHLA and is calling for further protests on Wednesday (5 p.m.). The aim of the demonstration is to emphatically underline the rejection of privatization, the union announced. The demonstration march will start in the Speicherstadt warehouse district in front of the headquarters of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) and will lead to the economic authority. In September 2023, around 2,500 people had already taken to the streets against the controversial deal. In November, HHLA employees also walked off the job for a day in protest in a wildcat strike.

Hamburg's red-green Senate has now officially approved the agreed entry of the Hapag-Lloyd rival into HHLA and forwarded a corresponding printed matter to the city parliament, which was able to finalize the deal in May. The city and the Geneva-based Italian Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) intend to run HHLA as a joint venture in future, with the city holding a majority stake of 50.1 percent. To date, the city has owned around 70 percent of the listed HHLA, which is to remain in its current form until the end of 2026./klm/DP/mis