Retail Workers Hit Multiple German Cities as ver.di Demands 7% Wage Increase

Warning strikes swept through the retail, wholesale and foreign-trade sectors in Berlin, Kiel, Erfurt, Bochum and Saarbrücken as the services union ver.di intensified pressure on employers. The union is demanding a 7% pay rise over a twelve-month term, while employers have tabled offers ranging from 2% to 3.4%—with substantially longer contract durations. Further rounds of bargaining are scheduled for June.

The walkouts come as collective bargaining in Germany shows sharply divergent outcomes. In contrast to the deadlocked retail talks, the property-services firm Apleona reached a two-year house agreement covering its Neu-Isenburg site. Under the deal, workers will receive a one-off payment of €1,000 for the period from 1 February to 31 December 2026—full-time employees get the full amount, part?time staff a pro?rata share. From 1 January 2027, wages and salaries will rise permanently by 2.5%. The contract runs until 31 January 2028. A notable feature: ver.di members receive a compensatory adjustment of 0.8% to offset any disadvantage from the deal.

Elsewhere in the service industry, facility manager ISS extended a contract with a Nordic defence client by ten years, with the expanded scope of services scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2026. The Merkur Group spun off its logistics arm into a new entity, Merkur Service & Logistics, which now employs around 460 staff and 60 drivers.

A first for the emergency?services sector: the German Fire Brigade Union (Deutsche Feuerwehr-Gewerkschaft) concluded its own in?house collective agreement with the ASB Hamburg ambulance service at the Interschutz trade fair. The deal covers the 39.5?hour work week and a net?pay supplement in the event of illness.

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