Gastronomy workers in Lippe face wage dispute

A significant wage dispute is unfolding in the gastronomy sector within the Lippe district of Germany, affecting approximately 4,630 employees. Thorsten Kleile of the food and gastronomy union, Nahrung-Genuss-Gaststätten (NGG), has criticized employers for what he describes as a ‘stingy offer’ during current collective bargaining rounds.

The union claims that the German Hotel and Restaurant Association in North Rhine-Westphalia (Dehoga NRW) is not offering enough to offset inflation. Specifically, the NGG notes that a proposed 1.9 percent increase for cooks and restaurant managers equates to less than 31 cents per hour. Furthermore, the union expressed concern that employers intend to offer only the statutory minimum wage to kitchen assistants without formal training, which could lead to labor shortages in the region.