After the penultimate announcement of new rail strikes, CSU general secretary Martin Huber sharply accused the GDL union of abusing the right to strike. It is “indecent, irresponsible and shameless to speak openly as a union boss in these times that the aim of the strike is chaos and a lack of planning,” said Huber, referring to GDL boss Weselsky. Therefore, strikes should have to be announced in advance, especially in the case of critical infrastructure, they should be limited in time and an arbitration procedure – albeit unsuccessful – should have taken place in advance.“
Right to strike with proportionality requirement
However, there are no legal regulations in Germany that restrict the right to strike in certain areas of public services.
The right to strike in Germany arises from the freedom of association enshrined in the Basic Law. According to the Bundestag’s Research Service, industrial dispute law in Germany was essentially developed through case law. However, according to the case law of the Federal Labor Court, the most important basic principle of every industrial dispute is the principle of proportionality – which must be continually reassessed.
But how do other countries feel about the right to industrial action? The star took a closer look at the regulations in some European countries.
Source: Bundestagwith AFP, “Econstor”, CASE REHS, daily News, EURES, belgium.be, oegb.at, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Work.ch, Hans Böckler Foundation