Thousands of German retail workers to strike amid pay dispute

Thousands of retail and trade workers across Germany are set to walk off the job Friday as wage talks with employers remain deadlocked, the United Services Union, or Ver.di, said.

The union called on workers in the retail, wholesale and foreign trade sectors to stage another round of nationwide warning strikes to increase pressure on employers during ongoing collective bargaining negotiations.

Central strike rallies are planned in major commercial centers including Berlin, Dortmund, Wiesbaden, Hanover, Oldenburg, Braunschweig and Hamburg, according to Ver.di.

Silke Zimmer, a member of Ver.di’s federal executive board responsible for trade, accused employers of deliberately dragging out negotiations.

“Employers are once again playing for time in this bargaining round — that is why we will now increase the pressure once more,” Zimmer said.

She said employers had submitted only a minimally improved offer after more than 25 rounds of talks across all 16 collective bargaining regions in retail, adding that the proposal still included real wage losses and “zero months,” or waiting periods before the first pay increase.

Ver.di said retail employers recently offered a 2.4% wage increase effective Nov. 1, 2026, followed by a further 2% increase effective Aug. 1, 2027, under a two-year agreement.

The union rejected the proposal, calling it insufficient.

In the wholesale and foreign trade sector, Zimmer said employers had not presented an improved offer despite 35 rounds of negotiations across 20 bargaining regions since May 18.

“This blockade is driving colleagues who can barely afford their own shopping onto the streets,” she said.

Ver.di is demanding a 7% wage increase for workers, with a minimum monthly rise of €225 ($258), under a 12-month agreement.

The union said the trade sector employs more than 5.2 million people in Germany, making it the country’s largest private-sector industry.

The next round of retail negotiations is scheduled for Monday in Hesse and in Ver.di’s Lower Saxony-Bremen bargaining region, while talks for the wholesale sector are set to continue next Friday in Baden-Wurttemberg.