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Confectionery workers are set to initiate’ warning strikes’ in Germany after failing to reach an agreed pay deal with a clutch of companies.

The Food-Genuss-Gaststätten (NGG) union said yesterday (17 July) that some 5,900 employees in the confectionery industry in Bavaria are set to down tools.

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The NGG and the Bavarian regional group of the Federal Association of the Confectionery Industry (BDSI) “parted ways in the first round of collective bargaining on Tuesday evening without any result”, the NGG said.

The companies which are set to be affected are gummy-bear maker Lorenz Snack-World, chocolate businesses Brandt Zwieback-Schokoladen and Piasten, as well as baked goods company A&D Feinbackwaren and the gingerbread manufacturers Lambertz, Lebkuchen Schmidt and Weiss.

“These confectionery companies will soon have to reckon with production losses,” said NGG Bavaria chairman Mustafa Öz.

The union is demanding a 9.9% wage increase for one year, which should equate to “at least €360 ($394)” more per month for each employee.

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The employers’ offer was a 2.8% jump in the first 12 months and 2.1% for the following year – for a total period of 24 months, the union said.

“The warning strikes will put a damper on production in the confectionery industry throughout Bavaria. We will use the work stoppages to bring momentum to the negotiations. They are now entering a critical phase,” added Öz.

Last year, a wage agreement for confectionery workers in Germany was struck after a third round of talks, bringing strike action to an end.

In May, the union called for industry-wide strike action to take place in June after a second round of pay talks with the BDSI collapsed, with NGG rejecting the offer.

The following month, NGG, describing the deal as securing “significantly higher wages” for Germany’s confectionery employees, said the agreement would run for 14 months.