Confectionery workers in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein region of Germany have successfully negotiated a key 2.9% pay increase deal, following an extended period of industry talks, reports Neill Barston.

As our publication has previously covered, the region’s manufacturing sector for chocolate and sweets continues to be notably impacted by higher production costs, as well as ingredients sourcing prices, and logistics fees, placing significant strain on the sector. 

Consequently, workers in the industry have sought additional wages to match wider cost of living rises that have hit Europe, and the rest of the world in recent years.

They also negotiated a recovery bonus of €80 in September 2026, pro-rated for part-time employees, with trainees receiving the same percentage increases mentioned above. 

Confectionery Production has tracked the development of the trade in the German market in recent years, with its BDSI confectionery organisation repeatedly warning that national government needed to step in to support small and medium-sized enterprises such as those within the confectionery sector, which are facing continued major production pressures.

While this year’s ISM confectionery show in Cologne pointed to a comparatively encouraging picture of conditions within Germany itself, from speaking to a number of businesses at the event, our title noted the continued concern from many firms over the cost of operating in the region.

The introduction of tariffs to the US from European countries has also proved another negative additional cost that has been seen this past year, causing notable industry alarm regarding export destinations.

Dr. Mario Mundorf, political director for collective bargaining at Germany’s confectionery trade association, the BDSI, welcomed the breakthrough, though he stressed that the deal placed many companies to the brink of what they could afford to pay.

“The collective bargaining result demands a lot economically from the companies and pushes them to the edge of what is financially manageable.

:However, with the two-year term, it has been possible to give companies in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein a high degree of planning and cost security. It’s also positive that no minimum amounts were agreed upon, as these would have further and disproportionately increased the burden on employers,”