Confectionery industry workers in the German city of Hannover have staged a walkout in an ongoing dispute over pay despite agreements having been reached in other areas.
The union acting for German confectionery workers has agreed pay deals with the body representing the strike-threatened industry in a number of regions in the country.
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But the threat of walkouts still remains in areas, such as Hannover, where pay deals have yet to be agreed.
It is a mixed picture as talks between The Food, Beverages and Catering Union (NGG) and industry representative body the Federal Association of the German Confectionery Industry (BDSI) are being held at a regional rather than national level.
On 14 October, a number of German confectionery businesses saw workers down tools.
A two-day strike started at three factories in the northern German city of Lübeck at sites owned by confectioners Niederegger, Carstens Lübecker Marzipan and Schwartauer Werke.
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By GlobalDataA union spokesperson said workers at confectionery companies in Hamburg and the surrounding area also participated in the strike.
A day later, workers at six Berlin area confectionery companies staged a walkout. Manufacturers August Storck, Bahlsen, Cargill Lichtenrade and Reinickendorf, Stollwerck and Wilhelm Reuss were all impacted by the strike.
The strikes were timed to put pressure on employers in the run-up to the next round of pay talks.
The NGG is also demanding collective agreements should only last for a term of 12 months, not the 28 months management is seeking.
Last week, local media outlets reported the BDSI as saying that talks in some areas would not resume until mid-November.
But a BDSI spokesperson told Just Food today (21 October) that last week negotiations took place in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hessen and that agreements had been reached in those regions.
“Tomorrow negotiations will take place for Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein,” the spokesperson said.
A union spokesperson confirmed agreements have been reached in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg and said further negotiations are pending in other regions.
But the NGG has expressed concern about pay talks in Lower Saxony and Bremen and pointed to the “warning strike” ahead of talks in Hannover (Lower Saxony) today.
“Even after warning strikes, the employers have not submitted a sufficient offer,” the union said.
Finn Petersen, a negotiator for the collective bargaining committee and regional director of the NGG in the north, said: “We let the workforce vote with their feet”.
He added: “We will now call for warning strikes again: if nothing changes in the minds of our negotiating partners, we will move to the factory gates again.”
The union said the next negotiation date for that region will be 30 October.
