Germans worry their beloved kebab may get more pricy or even scarce because of factory strike

By Kirsten Grieshaber

Germans are in kebab angst.

They worry that their most beloved street food option, the spicy, juicy kebab in a pita that can be found on every street corner across Germany, may get more expensive — or even worse, that the country may be sliding into a national kebab shortage.

Even if these fears may sound exaggerated at first, they aren’t unfounded. Workers at one of Germany’s biggest kebab factories are locked in a bitter and ongoing fight with their employer over wages and working conditions.

For weeks, workers at the Birtat Meat World SE factory in southwestern Germany have repeatedly stopped the production line by walking off their jobs in “warning strikes,” demanding wage increases of 375 euros ($434) per month.

Their current salaries vary widely, and haven’t been disclosed. The Food, Beverages and Catering Union that represents them says that payment methods are nontransparent and workers are making vastly different