Employees are walking out at several breweries in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region this week in a spat over wages.
Workers took part in a “warning strike” yesterday (26 May) at Krombacher’s brewery in Kreuztal.
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Around 150 Krombacher employees downed their tools for a two-hour period, Isabell Mura, deputy regional chairwoman of the North Rhine-Westphalia branch of the Food, Beverages and Catering Union (NGG), told Just Drinks.
A “warning strike” acts as a “warning signal” to employers, Mura said.
Demonstrations are also taking place today (27 May) at the Veltins brewery in Meschede, Hochsauerland, at the Dortmunder Actien Brauerei (DAB) in Dortmund, and Diebels brewery in Issum.
“A lot of trouble has been brewing in North Rhine-Westphalia’s breweries – especially at Krombacher in Kreuztal. Employers are putting the brakes on wages. This is provoking a ‘knot in the beer pipeline’ – namely, a whole series of warning strikes in many North Rhine-Westphalian breweries,” Mura said in a statement.
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By GlobalDataShe added that the move across these German breweries could hit production.
“Summer thirst could also suffer: Reduced beer production would also make barbecues and summer festivals drier,” Mura said.
The NGG union has called on brewery employers to give all staff a 6.6% wage increase this year.
It has argued that employers have so far proposed a 2% hike for 2025, and a 2.2% wage increase for 2026, is “clearly too small a wage increase for properly brewed beer”, said Mura.
All full-time staff should earn at least €280 ($318) more a month, which “will primarily benefit those who aren’t higher up the wage ladder like brewers”, she said. The NGG is also calling for apprentices to receive €130 a month, Mura added.
Responding to the news, Veltins told Just Drinks: “We consider the two-hour warning strike to be disproportionate given that a third round of negotiations has already been scheduled. The C & A Veltins brewery is interested in a better position for our employees in line with the market in agreement with both collective bargaining partners.”
Uwe Helmich, managing director at DAB said: “The right to strike is one of the rights of employee: we respect that.
“However, we also call on the Food, Beverages and Catering Union (NGG) to approach the next round of negotiations constructively, in order to find a viable solution together with the employer representative.
“The latter is also the appropriate contact for detailed questions about the course of the negotiations so far and the background of the proposed wage increase, since this is a sector-wide issue, not one concerning a single brewery.”
Krombacher declined to comment on the news. Just Drinks has also contacted Diebels’ owner Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Strikes also took place at Gaffel and Reissdorf in Cologne and Stauder, Essen, on Friday (23 May), Mura told Just Drinks.
No further stoppages are planned for now, she added, noting that negotiations were due to take place with companies on 8 July.
