Warning strike at Coca-Cola: Employees demand higher wages in Ahrweiler!

Warning strike at Coca-Cola: Employees demand higher wages in Ahrweiler!

In Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, around 250 employees at the Coca-Cola plant stopped work today. The warning strike, organized by the Food, Pleasure and Restaurants union (NGG), is an immediate reaction to the company's offer, which, according to the union, is perceived as a "provocation". While Coca-Cola does not plan to raise wages for 2025, it is only offering 1.5 percent more for 2026. This means there is little room for discussion and high emotions among employees.

The NGG is therefore calling for a retroactive advance increase in wages of 150 euros from September 1st and a wage increase of five percent. Training allowances are also to be increased by 120 euros per year, and the term of the new collective agreement is to be limited to twelve months. Coca-Cola reacts by emphasizing that employees have already earned 3.5 percent, or around 170 euros more per month, since March. This was discussed in the first round of negotiations on September 10th, which, however, remained inconclusive.

The pressure is growing

But the NGG is not remaining idle. Trade unionists are also calling for strikes at other locations, such as in Ludwigsfelde near Berlin. A total of 80 employees from the early and late shifts are affected. Sebastian Riesner, managing director of the NGG for the Berlin-Brandenburg region, announced that “nothing would happen” in Genshagen near Ludwigsfelde either. Around 140 people work at the site and some deliveries have already had to be postponed due to the strike.

The nationwide wave of strikes could become even more intense as the NGG is also calling for strikes at other locations, including Bremen, Hildesheim, Lüneburg and Mölln, where around 1,200 employees can be mobilized. Finally, in the last round of negotiations it became clear that the employers wanted to stick to their offer, which made the air for negotiations correspondingly thin.

Future prospects and negotiations

But Coca-Cola itself also defends its position. The company highlights that wage increases totaling 670 euros per month have already been implemented in recent years, with the last increase for 2025 having already been recognized from their perspective. Kathrin Flohr, Managing Director for People & Culture at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Germany, emphasizes that employee performance is valued. Nevertheless, the NGG remains dissatisfied and is threatening to expand the strikes if the company's attitude does not change.

The next negotiating meeting between the NGG and Coca-Cola is scheduled for November 10th in Hamburg. The union announced that it would put all its might under pressure on the company. The situation remains tense and many employees are curious to see how this collective bargaining round will develop, because the good mood could quickly give way to a storm if work continues to be stopped.

In total, Coca-Cola operates 24 locations in Germany with around 6,500 employees, 13 of which are production plants. It remains to be seen how the negotiations will play out and what steps the NGG will take next. The nervousness is palpable, and one thing is certain: something is happening!

For further information about the strikes and ongoing collective bargaining, please visit Current4u, rbb24 or Time.