Labor campaign: tariff cleaning for the Birtat kebab factory

The employees at the kebab skewer manufacturer Birtat crush meat, marinate and then put it on the skewers – a bone job. According to the union information, the first collective agreement in the kebab meat industry will apply to them. In it, the entry-level wage was set to 2,600 euros, as the union food-enjoyment-restaurant (NGG) and the company Meat World SE (Birtat) in Murr near Ludwigsburg announced. For works council chief Muzayfe Doganer, the house collective agreement “A dream” has come true. “I wanted to cry.” He was proud of the approximately 120 employees. It is a result that is good for both sides.

Furthermore, an increase in the fees in two stages with a total scope of up to 17 percent in the top was agreed at a term by the end of 2026, as both sides announced.

The NGG union had requested an increase in fees by 375 euros per month and a collective agreement. The employees temporarily resigned on eleven different days.

NGG negotiator Magdalena Krüger said that this collective bargaining is a historical result in the kebab meat industry and a success of the employees.

According to the joint message, company spokesman Cihan Karaman said: “We are convinced that this contract not only creates planning security, but also strengthens the trust and cooperation between companies and employees.” The contract is a house collective agreement because it has been concluded between the union and the company.

Association: 400 kebab manufacturers in Germany

The tariff dispute has been led with hard bandages in the past few weeks. Both sides had to make concessions. In the second coordination, around 90 percent of the NGG members surveyed voted for the acceptance of the collective agreement.

The collective bargaining parties also undertake to negotiate a collective agreement for classification and a mantel collective agreement. The union hopes that it will also be able to enforce collective agreement regulations for other companies in the industry. DGB state chief Kai Burmeister said that the collective bargaining at Birtat was a great and hard-won success for the employees and the NGG. BIRTAT belongs to the Meat World SE, according to NGG, the largest manufacturer of Dönerspießen in Baden-Württemberg-and one of the leading providers in Germany. In the factory, the employees are meat from the calf, chicken or beef on skewers – and give the whole the traditional form. The skewers are then shocked and delivered.

According to its own, BIRTAT provides thousands of snacks and reaches more than 13 million consumers per month. “Our products can be tasted almost in every big city in Europe,” said a company spokesman recently. One is a market leader. Meat World recently made annual sales of around 200 million euros. According to the association of kebab producers, there are around 400 kebab manufacturers in this country.