Why Germany is being hit by strikes almost every day

Rail, bus and airport workers have walked out one after another amid bittersalary negotiations in a country that usually prides itself on good labourrelations.
The latest industrial action by airport ground staff has forced Lufthansa tocancel nine out of every 10 flights for Wednesday.
How did the strikes start to pile up? Here are five things to know:
- When did the strikes start? -
Since the end of 2022, Germany has seen growing labour unrest, while realwages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.
A clutch of sectors received pay rises last year -- sometimes up to 10percent -- but the new settlements did not ease tensions as inflation stayedhigh at 5.3 percent last year.
The continued price pressure has strained pay talks and led to the number ofstrikes multiplying.
At the end of January, train drivers staged a five-day walkout, beforeworkers at airports and local transport services followed with their ownindustrial action.
- Why now? -
"Workers have really felt the loss of income, they have less money in theirpocket at the end of the month," Alexander Gallas, a political scienceprofessor at the University of Kassel, told AFP.
At the same time, the unions' bargaining power is strengthened by seriouslabour shortages plaguing German businesses.
But union demands are clashing with "the fact that many businesses are incrisis and do not have much to distribute", making a quick resolutioncomplicated, according to Hagen Lesch from the IW economic think tank.
- Labour relations on edge? -
The proliferation of strikes has called into question the future of Germany'sotherwise consensus-driven labour relations.
"It is the moment of truth for the German model," Lesch said.
"Unions were more willing to compromise during the coronavirus pandemic. Thatis over."
Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workerswent on strike the least.
Between 2012 and 2021, just 18 out of every 1,000 work days were disrupted byindustrial action, compared with 92 out of every 1,000 in France.
- What support do the strikes have? -
Collective agreements, which long undergirded the system, now cover just 43percent of workers compared with 56 percent in 2010.
But the current wave of strikes has enjoyed strong support among workers,according to experts, even if a single figure is not available.
"We are seeing high rates of participation, which is leading to an increasein union membership," Thorsten Schulten, a researcher at the WSI institute,told AFP.
- What next? -
Few decisive agreements have yet been found between unions and management,meaning the wave of strikes could carry forward.
"Everything is possible," said Claus Weselsky, head of the GDL rail workersunion, which is behind much of the transport disruption.
And other industries might yet join the fray. In the chemicals sector, whichhas known tough times in recent years, a new round of wage negotiations isset to kick off in the coming months, reports BSS.