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German parliament passes law curbing unions' wage power

Xinhua, May 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Bundestag, the lower house of German parliament, on Friday passed a bill curbing small trade unions' power to negotiate separate wage agreements.

According to the law, small unions in Germany are able to negotiate their own wage agreements, but in case of conflicts, the agreement of the biggest union of a particular sector would apply, trumping the various smaller agreements.

The government stressed the right to strike would not be touched by the bill, but that it would prevent small unions from striking "for themselves and not for the greater good."

The opposition, however, accused the government of undermining the unions' fundamental rights. Some unions announced it would take legal action against the bill.

The new law comes following a recent wave of strikes by some small German trade unions, including train drivers' union GDL and the pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit. The strikes have severely disrupted Germany's rail and air travel in recent months. Endit