In view of inflation, the energy crisis, sharply increased prices and tough collective bargaining, the trade unions in Bavaria have called for more than 80 Labor Day events. Several thousand demonstrators gathered in Munich on Monday under the motto “unbroken solidarity”. According to the announcement, the chairman of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) in Bavaria, Bernhard Stiedl, made a plea for more distributive justice at a rally in Schweinfurt. So far, the employees in particular have been bearing the burden of the crisis. While millions of people would have to worry as a result of the pandemic and energy crisis as to whether they would be able to cover their living expenses, “others are filling their pockets,” said Stiedl. He called for more justice in the tax system: “Income from work is still taxed more heavily in this country than income from capital. In this country, the strongest shoulders carry the smallest rucksack. That has to end at last!”
Verena Di Pasquale, second DGB chairwoman in Bavaria, called for progress on equality in Ingolstadt: “Anyone who needs skilled workers cannot do without women. This requires good pay, especially in the female-dominated sectors, and non-discriminatory tax systems.” Instead of mini-jobs, there should be employment subject to social security contributions from the first euro: “Securing skilled workers and precarious work don’t go together!”
In Kempten, Bavaria’s Verdi district manager, Luise Klemens, emphasized that unions have their value, especially in times of crisis – “not only as a strong collective bargaining force, but also as a socio-political corrective”. According to a statement, the Bavarian IG Metall district manager Horst Ott criticized the climate and energy policy in Bavaria in Amberg. “The CSU and Free Voters have been blocking the construction of power lines and the expansion of wind power in Bavaria for years. Now they want to operate nuclear power plants on their own – that’s ridiculous and backward-looking.” Regenerative sources provided the cheapest electricity and thus also ensured a low electricity price, Ott said. Nuclear power, on the other hand, is “the most expensive, dangerous and unsafe” of all.