Strikes should be the last resort for care, school and the like

All ligaments stand still when your strong arm wants it. This battle cry of the labor movement was aimed at exploiting industrialists in the early days of the class struggle. In this winter of strikes, it is the S-Bahn, buses and planes that are standing still because the service union Ver.di wants to demonstrate its strength to the public. It is true that this year's collective bargaining round in the public sector has only just begun. But the chairman of the powerful union, Frank Werneke, is already warning that the conflict could take on a completely different dimension in the coming weeks.

With 10.5 percent more wages, Ver.di demands a large sip from the bottle - at the expense of the taxpayer. In order to emphasize this demand, the previously locally limited warning strikes in city cleaning, in daycare centers and in local transport could soon be extended to the entire federal territory and also include hospitals and offices. And of course paralyzing air traffic again and again.

The whole country threatens to sink into strike chaos. Because at Deutsche Post and Deutsche Bundesbahn, the negotiation strategy of the unions involved this year also seems to be designed for escalation from the outset. The wage demands of up to 15 percent are well above the conclusions of the major industrial sectors. All warnings that the wage-price spiral is getting more and more going with double-digit wage agreements, that inflation is being driven up again and the economy is collapsing, let the wage poker players bounce off.

Ver.di also overuses the questionable means of warning strikes, to which the service union calls without the ballot required for a regular industrial action. Even after the first round of negotiations - which usually does not result in an agreement - calling for industrial action has nothing to do with active social partnership. Rather, this is a tough mini-max strategy: the maximum should be obtained with minimal effort.

The Verdi union is calling for warning strikes at several airports. On Friday, travelers have to be prepared for significant disruptions. In the current wage negotiations, employees are demanding higher wages.

Source: WELT/ Leonie von Randow

Collective bargaining disputes in the private sector are directed against employers. But in the public sector, the unions are waging industrial action against citizens in order to get federal and local negotiators to generous deals. And for employers, it often seems easier to agree on exorbitant wage increases than to subject the population to week-long service interruptions in sensitive areas.

Collective bargaining autonomy, like the right to strike, is enshrined in the constitution. These basic rights cannot be shaken, because they are part of the core of our economic and social system. Nevertheless, it is legitimate to think about careful corrections in the legal implementation, as the economic wing of the Union is now demanding. The well-known employment lawyer Gregor Thüsing has been in favor of prescribing a binding arbitration procedure for areas of public interest such as transport, energy supply or education before a strike can take place.

In addition, a sufficient emergency service and appropriate advance warning times should be legally specified. In this way, the disruption to uninvolved citizens and companies could be significantly reduced without significantly reducing the ability of unions to take industrial action. It would be a wise compromise.

But politicians shy away from confronting the DGB trade unions. The SPD in particular is interested in a close alliance. Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil (SPD) has implemented a demand from the trade unions by significantly increasing the minimum wage to twelve euros. With no collective bargaining whatsoever, the law boosts the entire low-wage sector.

And because collective bargaining coverage is particularly low in many service sectors, the legislature is declaring more and more collective agreements to be generally binding. This means that the agreements on wages and working hours apply to all employees and employers, although only a small minority of them have signed the collective agreements. Ver.di in particular benefits from this political support.

The fact that the collective bargaining autonomy enshrined in the Basic Law also guarantees the negative freedom of association, i.e. non-membership in a trade union or an employers' association, is ignored. In any case, such interventions by the legislature show that changes to collective bargaining and the right to strike are quite possible if politicians want them to.

Anyone who has to be annoyed about canceled flights, canceled trains or closed day care centers and the undelivered mail in the coming weeks should therefore not limit their frustration to the strikers and the agitators in the unions. Politics is partly responsible for a republic that paralyzes itself.

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