Berlin (AP) – The Germans are in Kebab Angst.
They are concerned about their most beloved street food options, Spicy and juicy pita kebab It can be found on all street corners in Germany and may be more expensive – or even worse, country It could be slipping into the nationwide kebab shortage.
If these fears may sound exaggerated at first, they are not unfounded. Workers at one of Germany’s largest kebab factories are trapped in a fierce and continuous battle with employers over wages and working conditions.
For several weeks, workers at Birtat Meat World SE Factory in southwestern Germany repeatedly stopped production lines by leaving work on a “warning strike.”
Current salary is very different and has not been disclosed. According to the German press DPA, the food, beverages and catering unions that represent them have a clear payment method and that workers earn very different salaries for the same type of work.
Workers are also trying to organize collective contract agreements for all employees with the help of unions.
Immigrant workers
Many workers are immigrants from Türkiye, Romania and Bulgaria, who have long and tough jobs in factories, close to freezing temperatures to keep the raw meat fresh.
On Wednesday, many workers left their jobs again, waving flags in front of the factory main gates, playing drums, histts, screaming for a higher salary and union contract.
German media reports that Birtat has not succumbed to any of the previous demand. The company did not respond immediately to the interview request.
Millions of consumers each month
Located in Murr, 30km (nearly 20 miles) north of Stuttgart, Birtat has been making Kebab skewers for over 30 years. The company says it skewers on ground beef, chicken, chicken or turkey kebabs weighing up to 120 kilograms (260 pounds).
The worker cuts the meat, marinates it, and pushes a mass of raw produce into a long metal skewer. The meat is then shocked and delivered to restaurants across the country.
Birtat says it supplies thousands of kebab stands and fast food locations, reaching over 13 million consumers each month. Some restaurant owners worry that German favorite fast food snacks will actually become more expensive or even less if workers decide to go on a long-term strike.
Price rise
The Germans have already complained that the cheap classic meat snack, which was sold for 2.50 euros about 20 years ago, has become expensive, and that most places are being charged at least 7 euros ($8).
Halil Dumant was pondering the state of the kebab business as he was busy slicing the thin ground beef from Pergamon Dorner, a small eatery at Friedrichstrath Station in Berlin, where people lined up for lunch.
“It’s all become more and more difficult,” said the 68-year-old Turkish immigrant. “Produce is becoming more expensive and we are barely making any profits anymore.”
“But if we raise prices even further, people won’t buy here anymore,” he said, working at a kebab store in the German capital for over 30 years, selling classic kebab sandwiches for 7.50 euros (about $8.70).
History of German kebabs
The Germans have been fantasizing for a long time Kebab sandwichIt is called a German donor. The word comes from the Turkish verb “donmek.” This means that the meat is baked for hours on nausea and cut out with a thin slice of razor when crisp and brown.
It was first brought to Berlin by Turkish immigrants in the 1970s. Bake meat snacksIt is wrapped in pita bread with finely made lettuce, tomatoes, onions and various dressings, and is sold all over Germany from the region that stretches from the Baltic Sea to the Bavarian Alps.
According to the legend, Mahmut Aigun, a Turkish guest worker who invented the first döner sandwich in 1971, sold meat in pita bread dressed in a yogurt dress at a stand near a major station next to the zoo in West Berlin.
Although around 2.9 million people with Turkish roots live in Germany, many foreign tourists typically consider German and don’t even know about the past of snack immigration, so doinner kebab sandwiches are very ubiquitous.
Nere Langfeld, a 22-year-old college student, came to Pergamon Dorner after finishing his exams, as he craved delicious, comfortable food.
She was waiting for her turn, but she had never heard of the labor dispute in Birtat, but she is sure she didn’t like the possibility of shortages or the prospect of rising prices.
“I live on a budget, but that’s the last thing I need,” she said. “Döner is an affordable meal that really fills your stomach. It should stay that way.”
