The dairy sector in the German state of Bavaria faced a setback as a potential pay deal with workers collapsed “at the last minute,” reported by the local food trade union Gewerkschaft Nahrung-Genuss-Gaststätten (NGG). Despite 15 hours of negotiations with dairy companies such as Danone, Ehrmann, and Nestlé, a resolution on wage disputes could not be reached.
Over 19,000 employees had been engaging in ‘warning strikes’ across 28 dairy and cheese factories in Bavaria. Mustafa Öz, chief negotiator and regional chairman of NGG Bayern, highlighted the challenges faced during the negotiations. The union demanded a fixed-wage increase of €411 ($447) per month for each employee, while the employers initially agreed to a wage increase of over 9% over 24 months along with an inflation compensation bonus of €1,075 as a one-off net payment. However, negotiations fell through at the last minute, causing a breakdown in trust and denying the employees the much-needed wage increase.
The NGG now plans to pursue arbitration to settle the dispute, with proceedings expected to commence next month. If arbitration fails, the union intends to escalate economic pressure on dairy industry employers, potentially leading to a massive strike across Bavarian dairies and cheese factories. This, in turn, could result in production losses and empty shelves in supermarkets.
