In the last few years, the workers' situation in the retail sector has dramatically worsened. While the workload is approaching the limits of what is physically bearable, the gap between wages and living costs is constantly growing. All the while company profits constantly increase: between 2000 and 2006 they have risen by 64.3%. When at the end of 2006 employers wanted to cut late and night-time bonuses, to many employees this was the straw that broke the camel's back: the longest and toughest wage dispute in the German retail sector began.