ALLIANCE FO§ DEMOCRACY

The Silver Lining

Few people like Andrea Nahles, but that is all the same to her. Andrea Nahles sings and wins, that is all that matters to her. Her third greatest victory is the Collective Bargaining Act. With that, she has banned anyone from speaking up anymore, which is the way it has been for a long time now in the sham democracy that is Germany: Protesters who flock together in small trade unions, ridiculing the government as the opposition continues to shake the politicized industrial peace. Thanks to Nahle, protest will finally be standardized. Just 70 years ago, this was known as enforced conformity.
The new law was approved after “a hefty exchange of blows” in the Bundestag. The government said the law was necessary so that “small specialty unions cannot shut down the country with a strike.”
The opposition called it “excessive interference with the right to strike” and said it “undermines constitutional rights.” Nahles defended her law in the Bundestag as “a means of strengthening free collective bargaining.” Well, money makes money, as they say, so the one with the most money will be the devil’s favourite.
In the Bundestag, 448 voted for and 126 against the law, with 16 abstentions. It was a miracle that (more than 40) members of the Coalition voted against it. The Bundesrat (Federal Council) is expected to give its blessing to the law on 12 June 2015. A majority in the upper chamber is not significant, therefore the regulations will take effect the following month. From then on, only those collective bargaining terms concluded with the union with the most members will apply in the shop. At a company that only employs pilots, this might not be a problem, but it will be a problem at a company that also employs metal workers, lawyers or logistics specialists. As with party politics, in which only those who have the most members in the Bundestag govern, thanks to bold election promises that turn out to be lies after the victory celebrations, only those with the right union membership card can strike.
It is doubtful that our rotten economy á la party politics is a suitable model for ordinary employees. Of course, the procedure for calling a strike will take longer in the future, because it will have to be coordinated in different camps. It remains to be seen how this will be in the interest of the economy or the consumer.
Several professional unions, as the Marburger Bund hospital physicians association, the train drivers union GDL, the pilot's union Cockpit, the Ver.di united services union and the German Federal Government Civil Service Union have filed a complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court against the new law.
A ruling from the court may take some time, and it remains to be seen whether it will favour the interests of business or is good for employees and potential strikers.
Curbing the right to strike fits right in at a time when political parties, who have the most members, enforce their policies. Opposing views are no longer considered, no longer anticipated, and have no lobby. Not even in the courts, since the judges are bound by instructions and at the service of those who have the power. A ruling from them is actually superfluous. If only those pesky protesters were out of the way so the majority party would not have to put up with them anymore. A new day is coming, though, in which the ludicrous rulings of an institution that has long been supressed, will be completely redundant. It just takes time for a true dictatorship to emerge from a sham democracy. But Andrea Nahles is the silver lining in this framework. A hero who does not need to be able to do anything except toss around ideas with the agreement of everyone in the party, who agree to everything anyway. Mass instead of class. Nahles has shown her hand: There is no right to strike.
Under Art. 9 of the German Constitution, all Germans have the right to form associations and societies, including those that promote working and economic conditions (Par. 3). Individuals are guaranteed the right to free association; the (collective) freedom of association protects the activities of associations, which include the negotiation and conclusion of collective bargaining agreements. This freedom of collective bargaining is a fundamental right. It must be cultivated by the legislature, which is now rummaging in the garden of employees and toying with the lives of those who are striking in hopes of some kind of solution to an already impossible situation. There are already prohibitions on striking (resolution of the Federal Labour Court of 21 April 1971). It is always supposed to be a last resort. Thanks to Mrs Nahles' push, strikes may only be called in the future if the employees of a company belong to the majority union and are fighting for higher wages.
A little less is always better for those who are not allowed to grumble: the workers. That is what the companies want, and when they want something they complain to the lawmakers, who endeavour to give a little more to those who profit from the earnings. Of, course, something is wrong here: If only those who are in a majority may do what they want, why are a handful of business people always in charge? Employees should be able to decide what they want on their own in the future. They are always the majority. That would be fair. We should also get rid of Nahles with her expensive, impossible or senseless ideas. We do not need a silver lining. We need real heroes, both men and women.