Thousands of retail employees have once again stopped working in the current collective bargaining round. This time, the focus of the nationwide warning strikes called by the Verdi union was the furniture store chain Ikea. 31 furniture stores are “in varying degrees of industrial action,” said Verdi.
According to the union, a total of more than 8,000 retail employees took part in the warning strikes. According to a spokeswoman, there were noticeable restrictions in operational processes, including effects in the checkout area. Appointments in the kitchen studio would also have had to be canceled in individual branches.
When asked, Ikea said: “We are currently only observing minor effects from strikes in our furniture stores.” All 54 branches are open. The bargaining manager of the German trade association, Steven Haarke, said: “Business continues as usual. Verdi must understand that the strikes are not achieving their goal.” Confrontation is the wrong tactic.
Verdi demands seven percent more wages
Negotiations for retail as well as wholesale and foreign trade started in April in the first districts of the state. In mid-May and early June, Verdi had already called for nationwide warning strikes.
Verdi is demanding seven percent more wages, at least 225 euros, for a term of twelve months. Employers in several 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 two-year term. Verdi rejected this.
According to the union, around 5.2 million people work in retail in this country, of which 3.4 million work in retail. The previous collective bargaining negotiations dragged on for more than a year. In the end, retail employees saw an overall income increase of around 14 percent for the years 2023 to 2025.