"This is just the first of several strike and action highlights in the coming weeks," Verdi announced on Thursday afternoon.
The union estimated that around 13,000 workers would participate in the strike, with central rallies to take place in Cologne, Chemnitz, Hamburg and Minden, among other cities.
The strikes themselves are set to take place in branches and warehouses of the food retailer Edeka, meaning that some locations could see closures lasting the whole day.
READ ALSO: Why Germany is being hit by strikes almost every day
What do the workers want?
Verdi is demanding at least €2.50 more per hour in all regions in the retail sector for a period of one year, and an increase in hourly wages to €13.50 for the lowest paid group of employees.
According to the German Retail Association (HDE), the employers' representatives, this would correspond to a wage increase of 15 percent.
But the employers are set on an increase of ten percent over two-year period and an inflation compensation bonus of €750 - an offer that Verdi has repeatedly rejected in negotiations.
In Germany, the current minimum wage stands at €12.41 and will rise to €12.82 per hour in 2025.
The current round of collective bargaining in the retail sector has been going on for months. Numerous warning strikes in the weeks before Christmas were unable to change the deadlocked situation.
‘Just the beginning'
According to Silke Zimmer from the Verdi national executive board, the employers' offers were "not even remotely sufficient to compensate for the real wage losses of recent years".
The offers that have been made to employees in wholesale and foreign trade so far also fall "far short of the demands of the collective bargaining committees".
Top-level talks at the national level have also recently failed to bring any progress, with Verdi accusing the employers of blocking the negotiations.
The industrial action on Friday is only the beginning of several central weeks of action before Easter. "We want to focus specifically on the 'blockers' in the employers' camp," said Zimmer.
READ ALSO: The strikes that could hit life in Germany in 2024
According to the Verdi statement, several weeks of action will follow until Easter, likely affecting other supermarkets, stores and warehouses.
Unlike the latest wave of strikes which Germany has seen in public transport, the warning strikes have only had a minor impact on the public since participation has remained low.
Comments