District - Anyone who works in the dairy industry in the Starnberg district has their hands full even during the corona pandemic.
However, although sales in the industry are increasing, employees could face a loss of income, warns the food-enjoyment-restaurants union (NGG).
“Fresh milk, cheese and yoghurt are in great demand even in times of crisis. But so far the companies have only offered a wage increase of two percent. The inflation rate is currently around four percent. This means that the employees would not have more money in their pockets at the end of the month, but less, ”says Tim Lünnemann, Managing Director of the NGG Munich region. The union calls on the companies to significantly improve their tariff offer for Bavaria's dairy industry. But instead of achieving a result at the negotiating table, the employers have now called the arbitration. This is apparently intended to prevent the already planned strikes in the industry, criticizes the NGG. Should the arbitration chaired by the President of the State Labor Court, Harald Wanhöfer, not bring about a breakthrough on October 18,However, there will soon be strikes across Bavaria in the dairy industry.
"From the Andechser dairy to the head offices of Danone and Bel in Munich: the dairy industry is an important economic factor in the region," emphasizes Lünnemann. It could not be that those who generated good business figures would have to cut back on income. According to the employment agency, the milk processing industry in Upper Bavaria employs around 5,400 people. In all of Bavaria there are almost 19,000. According to the State Statistical Office, the industry generated sales of 11.9 billion euros in the Free State last year - 23 percent more than in 2016.
In the current collective bargaining round, the union is demanding a wage increase of 5.5 percent, but at least 180 euros more per month. The remuneration for trainees should also increase by 5.5 percent. In addition, the NGG advocates collective disability insurance. The topic of financial security in the event of occupational disability had once again come into focus in the wake of the corona pandemic. But the employers have so far rejected the union's request. “In the event of occupational disability, employees can even slip into Hartz IV, we want to prevent that. Because the statutory disability pension is a maximum of 36 percent of the last gross income, in 2019 that was only 827 euros on average. More and more people are affected by this - the need for action in the dairy industry is enormous ",emphasizes negotiator Mustafa Öz. It is a scandal that the companies very quickly rejected negotiations on this topic.
With a view to the pending arbitration, Öz makes it clear: “The employees were and are ready to stop working in response to their demands.
If the arbitrator's proposal is inadequate, there will be milk strikes across Bavaria.
Postponed is not cancelled."
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