- Warning strike at marmalade and marzipan shops
Employees of the confectionery companies Niederegger, Carstens Lübecker Marzipan, and Schwartauer Werke have gone on a 24-hour warning strike. They aim to reinforce their demands for higher wages, as the lead negotiator of the union Nahrung-Genuss-Gaststätten (NGG), Finn Petersen, told the German Press Agency. Around 500 employees participated in the demonstration march through the city of Lübeck. The three companies together employ approximately 1,800 people in the region.
The union is demanding a 9.9 percent increase in wages for employees of the jam and marzipan companies over a period of 12 months, with a minimum increase of 360 euros per month. Apprentices should receive an additional 190 euros. The union also insists on a mobility allowance. According to NGG, employers have so far offered two pay increases of 3.1 and 2.6 percent over a period of 28 months, which Petersen described as "too long and too little".
The foodstuffs produced by these confectionery companies are at the heart of the workers' wage dispute. A significant part of the union's demands involves improving the wages of those involved in the production of these foodstuffs.
