Economy – Union protests put pressure on German economy amid industry slump

First modification: 02/08/2024 – 13:23

The strike of passenger and freight train drivers that Germany faced at the beginning of 2024 was one of the longest in the history of its union and is part of a wave of actions that puts pressure on the national economy. The most recent strike, which remains ongoing, is that of the ground staff of the airline Lufthansa; which interrupted operations at important airports such as Frankfurt.

Unions are pushing for higher wages and better working conditions to help workers cope with the rising cost of living after a significant fall in real terms wages for three consecutive years.

The German economy is one of the largest in Europe, but it has been suffering the consequences of high inflation, which closed 2023 at 5.9%.

As a result of this economic panorama, unions demand salary improvements and follow the union tradition that dates back to the 19th century, based on a collective bargaining model whose objective is to prevent conflicts, a point that is now being questioned, mainly by businessmen.

Pessimism in the industry

According to the European Trade Union Institute, in Germany an average of 17.8 working days were lost per 1,000 employees due to strikes carried out between 2020 and 2022. While in Spain it was 37.3 days, 79.1 in France and 88. 9 in Britain, the latter having seen a huge increase in claims, from doctors, railway, bus and tube workers.

In the midst of this situation, businessmen are pessimistic about the projections for industrial growth, since German production fell more than expected in December, according to the federal statistics office, which marked the seventh consecutive monthly decline.

Industrial production fell 1.6% in December compared to the previous month. Analysts consulted by the Reuters agency had predicted a fall of 0.4%.

With Reuters