Credit: @Niederegger.Marzipan.Luebeck / Facebook

A number of German confectionery businesses have seen workers down tools in a dispute over pay.

The two-day strike started yesterday (14 October) at three factories in the northern German city of Lübeck, where it is understood some 1,800 workers are employed. The sites are owned by confectioners Niederegger, Carstens Lübecker Marzipan and Schwartauer Werke.

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The NGG union, which represents workers at the sites, called the strike and told Just Food around 450 employees from the first shifts impacted walked out.

A spokesperson said workers at confectionery companies in Hamburg and the surrounding area also participated in the strike.

The walkout has been timed to put pressure on employers in the run-up to the next round of pay talks.

A salary hike of 9.9%, or at least €360 ($392.55) a month, is being demanded for employees by NGG.

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The union said the confectionery companies are offering 3.1% initially and then 2.6% in a second phase.

Dirk Himmelmann, managing director of the NGG union in Lübeck, said: “The second collective bargaining session in the confectionery industry was sobering. No new offer from the employers and no real negotiation. They claim to have presented an appreciative offer, but it falls far short of the employees’ expectations.

“For the third negotiation on 23 October, we do not expect a blockade but an improved offer.”

The NGG is also demanding the collective agreement should only last for a term of 12 months, not the 28 months management is seeking.

Local media outlets have reported the Federal Association of the German Confectionery Industry (BDSI) as saying that talks would not resume until mid-November.

Just Food has asked BDSI for its reaction to the strike.