Strikes In Germany: Is There An Alternative To The Strike?

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Written by Emma Brown exclusively for SouthFront

The willingness to resist is growing, as shown by the recent airport strikes in Germany. Warning strikes, protest actions and even indefinite strikes are becoming more frequent. Earlier in February, the strikes at seven German airports affected almost 300,000 passengers and forced airlines to cancel more than 2,300 flights. In addition, around 8,000 Deutsche Post employees went on strike again in 10 cities, including Berlin, Munich and Rostock. Workers demanded for higher wages and wanted to be compensated for the increased prices for energy, fuel, food and rents. What are the underlying causes of the crisis? What’s wrong with Germany?

Germany’s economy faces huge challenges

For decades, Germany has been hooked on cheap and plentiful Russian natural gas, which ultimately fueled the manufacturing base of its export-driven economy — Europe’s largest — and bolted the two countries together with a steel network of multibillion-dollar pipelines. As sanctions took hold, Russia cut the supply to Germany. And then somebody blew up one of the gas pipelines that had carried it. Germany is buying more gas from the US and Norway despite higher prices, delivering unprecedented profits to gas suppliers, with each LNG carrier to Europe making an average of more than $200 million in profit.

With virtually no prospect of those imports resuming, the outlook for German chemical, glass and building-material companies, where gas and electricity can account for a third of costs, remains bleak. Even after recent declines, German energy prices remain substantially higher than in rival manufacturing zones in the US and Asia. 86% of the companies described the prospect of long-term gas and electricity supplies in Germany as “not good.”

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Germany’s manufacturing industry — which accounts for more than one fifth of the country’s economic output — is worried some of its companies won’t see the crisis through. Many are slashing production, while some are laying off employees and relocating parts of their operations abroad to cope. For example, the chemical giant BASF announced plans to cut 2,600 positions. BIA, which produces chrome-plated plastic components used by all major car manufacturers in Europe, announced that it would close its plant at Forst. The bankruptcy of automotive supplier Dr. Schneider affects all 2,000 employees. Volkswagen, which discussed with the works council how far down they may lower the temperature on factory floors to save on heating gas, announced that it would close a distribution center near Kassel by the end of 2024. Ford announced mass layoffs in Cologne and Aachen，the closure of the Ford Saarlouis plant by 2025 is a done deal. The production of drive shafts and other parts for VW, Audi, BMW and Mercedes will be relocated to Eastern Europe. Yasmin Fahimi, the head of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), warned that the energy crisis would lead to deindustrialization.

Facing hugely increased costs for energy and an uncertain economic outlook, 90 percent of companies said they were planning to or already had passed their increased costs on to customers, according to a new survey. The record-breaking inflation rate of 7.9 percent in 2022 saw “real” wages in Germany fall more sharply than at any time since the current statistical analyses began in 2008. Skyrocketing prices for energy and food have been driving inflation for months, ordinary Germans are paying.

US and Norway were behind Germany’s energy crisis

The Pulitzer winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported that US and Norway blew up the Nord Stream Pipelines. According to Hersh’s source, the decision to sabotage the pipeline came directly from President Biden and the subsequent top secret debate within the U.S. administration lasting some 9 months was on how to achieve the goal without getting caught. US Navy divers had planted explosive devices under the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines under the cover of the BALTOPS exercise in June 2022. It was the Norwegian navy which finally found the optimal location for blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. Thus, on September 26, a Norwegian Navy P8 surveillance plane dropped a sonar buoy in a seemingly routine flight, triggering high-powered C4 explosives that had been planted on the pipelines.

A short video appeared on social media of a testy exchange between US President Joe Biden and a German journalist at a press conference, where the President claimed something to the effect that the US will not allow NordStream 2 to go ahead. This was sharply challenged by the German journalist, who said, “How can you control it, it’s not in your country,” to which Biden replied, “You’ll see. ”

German MP Sevim Dagdelen said there is ample reason to believe the US was involved, blowing up the pipelines was Washington’s attempt to prevent rapprochement between Berlin and Moscow, as well as ensure Europe was buying US shale gas and not cheap Russian energy, which has long served as the bedrock of Germany’s economy. Inflation is still not under control in Europe and 2023 could be a year of recession. Are Europe’s industrial heartlands about to become rustbelts? Will Germany experience the trauma that Britain suffered as its factories closed, compelling its high-skilled manufacturing-based labor force to accept low-skill, low-productivity, low-wage jobs? The threat is reverberating in Germany’s corridors of power.

Europe’s Sleeping Giant Awakens

More people in the EU — from politicians to business leaders — have realized how they have been caught in the US’ trap, as the latter uses the EU crisis as an opportunity to enrich itself at the expense of the EU. In October 2022, at a press conference in Brussels following a meeting with other EU leaders, French President Emmanuel Macron slammed the US for creating “a double standard” by selling natural gas to Europe “at record prices.” Macron also delivered a blunt warning about Biden’s economic achievements, saying the IRA and the CHIPS law might “fragment the West” and dry up transatlantic investment. Biden’s response was to say he would make “no apologies” for either law.

Germany, Denmark and Sweden have launched investigations into the incident. Five months have passed. The reasons and perpetrators of the incident have not yet been clarified. The co-chairman of Germany’s Alternative for Germany party urges to not only investigate the report from Hersh, but also take dramatic action if the report is true and subsequently expel US troops from the country.

In the face of this situation — low wages falling in real terms, increasing workloads, billions spent on war and rearmament — workers are showing a willingness to fight. Germany has to wake up to US. Decisions must be made, challenges must be faced. Since overreliance on others can backfire, the Germans will be pretty much on your own now. Otherwise, it will fade into oblivion as its fate is determined by external stakeholders. Being at the mercy of others is obviously dangerous for any rational state, particularly in times of trouble. Voices are rising that demand an impartial and fair investigation. All the open questions must now be answered by investigative committee, all the findings of national authorities must flow together in the European Parliament.

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