Thousands of German Retail Workers Walk Out as Verdi Presses for €222 Monthly Raise
21.06.2026 - 19:44:00 | boerse-global.de
Shoppers at Ikea stores across Germany faced disruptions on Friday as more than 8,000 employees at 31 of the furniture giant's 54 German outlets joined a nationwide warning strike called by the Verdi union. The protests mark an escalation in tense wage negotiations covering both retail and wholesale sectors, with the next bargaining round set for Tuesday.
Verdi is demanding a 7% pay increase for retail workers — at least €222 more per month. The union also wants the minimum hourly wage lifted to €14.90 and a €150 monthly boost for apprentices, all under a twelve-month contract. The proposed timeline contrasts sharply with what employers have tabled: a staggered rise of 2% from November 2026 and another 1.5% from August 2027, spread over 24 months.
The symbolic centre of Sunday's action in Berlin was the Wittenbergplatz, where Verdi rallied striking retail staff. Similar walkouts hit Kaufland, Primark and H&M stores nationwide, as well as Kaufland’s logistics hub in Barsinghausen, Lower Saxony. In the Saarland, workers protested specifically against planned job cuts at Ikea — a company that reported billions in revenue last year.
Employers point to weak consumer spending and persistent cost pressures as justification for their modest offers. Ikea said all 54 stores remained open despite the strikes, calling the impact "minor." Several regional employer associations, including those in the Saarland, cancelled scheduled negotiating dates, signalling a deep standoff.
Parallel conflicts are simmering in other industries. On Sunday, the food-workers’ union NGG called a warning strike at the Storck confectionery plant in Halle (Westphalia), demanding 5.8% more pay. And in Erfurt, talks on a social plan for Zalando’s logistics centre collapsed on Saturday after the works council rejected the employer’s proposal as inadequate. The planned closure of that facility by 30 September threatens roughly 2,000 jobs. A mediation panel led by a former labour judge is set to begin work Monday.
