The Verdi union is once again calling for nationwide warning strikes in the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations in retail. The union announced that businesses and companies in retail, wholesale and foreign trade in all federal states were affected on Thursday and Friday. Large strike rallies are planned in several cities – on Thursday in Kiel and on Friday in Erfurt, Berlin, Bochum and Saarbrücken.
In some federal states, employers recently submitted collective bargaining offers, which Verdi rejected. The offers were “simply outrageous,” said board member Silke Zimmer. The retail companies are in an excellent economic position, but the employees should still be fobbed off with wage losses. “This is a complete impudence,” said Zimmer. With the strikes, the union wants to get employers to submit a negotiable offer.
In mid-May, more than 200 companies were already on strike
In mid-May, Verdi called for the first nationwide warning strikes in the current collective bargaining round in retail. According to union information, more than 5,000 employees took part in the temporary work stoppages. More than 200 locations were on strike, including branches of Edeka, Kaufland, Douglas, H&M and Ikea.
Verdi is demanding seven percent more wages, at least 225 euros, for a term of twelve months. Employers in individual federal states such as North Rhine-Westphalia and Hamburg have recently offered an increase of two percent in retail from November and a further increase of 1.5 percent from August 2027 – with a term of two years.
HDE sees “hardly any scope”
Negotiations for retail as well as wholesale and foreign trade started in April in the first districts of the state. The German Trade Association (HDE) had announced in advance that, given the difficult economic conditions, there was “hardly any scope” for wage increases this time.
According to Verdi, around 5.2 million people work in retail in this country, 3.4 million of whom work in retail. The previous collective bargaining negotiations dragged on for more than a year. In the end, retail employees saw an increase in income totaling around 14 percent for the years 2023 to 2025. Collective bargaining coverage in the industry has been declining for years and is comparatively low.