Why do workers go on strike?
"All the wheels shall stand still if your mighty arm wills it!"
This battle song of the German labor movement from 1863 is still
considered a call to strike today.
And strikes are the trade unions' most powerful weapon - worldwide.
Whether dock workers in London (1889), miners in the Ruhr Valley
(1889), May Day rioters in Paris (1968), general strikers in India
(2020) or creative workers in Hollywood (2023).
The aim is always to fight for higher wages and better working
or living conditions.
When employees go on strike, they stop work temporarily.
Strikes are organized by labor unions.
These organizations represent workers and negotiate collective
bargains with employers.
If no agreement is reached despite attempts at mediation,
a strike is called.
At least 75 percent of workers must vote in favor of a strike in
a ballot in order to be allowed to go on strike.
This can be very expensive for employers.
Although they pay no wages when workers strike, they can neither
produce anything nor earn anything.
Unions pay employees who are union members strike pay.
This helps them cope with the loss of pay and endure the strike for
quite a long time.
The strike only ends once a new offer has been made and 25 percent
of employees agree to it.
Labor disputes happen repeatedly around the world.
But willingness to strike varies greatly—as can be seen in
the number of days that workers go on strike.
Between 2012 and 2021, Belgium lost the most workdays per 1,000
employees each year, with 96, followed closely by France.
Then comes Canada, with 78, Denmark, with 53, and
Finland, with 48.
Germany is far behind with 18 days.
Strikes here are also increasingly met with a lack of understanding,
such as when buses, trains or airplanes come to a standstill.
Even so, many see strikes as necessary to represent
the interests of workers in labor disputes.