North German brewery workers start 24-hour warning strike!

North German brewery workers start 24-hour warning strike!

On May 26, 2025, collective bargaining for employees of northern German breweries failed to reach an agreement on the second day of negotiations. As a result, the union calls on production employees to go on a 24-hour warning strike. Those affected include the Flensburg brewery and the Carlsberg brewery in Hamburg.

The warning strike begins on Tuesday at 6 a.m. with the morning shift, which means that there will be no bottling of beer and lemonade during this time. The union estimates that the impact on supermarket shelves is likely to be small, unless products are already low on inventory. Further warning strikes are planned in Berlin, North Rhine-Westphalia, at the Hasseröder brewery in Saxony-Anhalt and the Jever brewery in Lower Saxony.

Claims and employer offers

The union is demanding a retroactive wage increase of 6% for employees from April 1, 2023. In contrast, the employers' side has made an offer of a 1% increase from October 1, 2025 and a further increase of 2.1% from April 1, 2026. It is planned that the new collective agreement will run until December 31, 2026. However, the union negotiator rejected the employers' offer.

These strikes and demands are part of a broader discussion in the food industry, where collective bargaining is also taking place. The Food-Gourmet-Gastronomy Union (NGG) is demanding a wage increase of 6.6 percent for around 6,500 employees of food companies. In addition, trainees should receive 150 euros more, and employees would also like an additional day off to prepare for exams before each exam.

Affected companies and regional differences

The NGG's demands are directed, among other things, against large companies such as Dr. Oetker in Wittlich, the Nestlé headquarters in Frankfurt and Milupa locations in Fulda and Friedrichsdorf. The union is also seeking talks to abolish the local classes in the collective wage and salary agreement, as there is currently a wage difference of around 60 euros per month for skilled workers depending on the location. The existing collective wage and salary agreement was terminated on March 31, 2025.

Overall, current developments in the brewery and food industry show an increasing tension between the demands of employees and the offers of employers, which is likely to further fuel the discussion about fair wages and working conditions.

For further details on collective bargaining in the brewery industry, the South German newspaper, while the NGG informed about the situation in the food industry.