Germany's labor movement loses two big battles

The German government has now announced that it will not try to pass universal minimum wage legislation. Instead, it will attempt to raise the minimum wage in 12 economic sectors, similar to the situation that exists in the construction industry. The Social Democrats, partners with the Christian Democratic Union in the national government, says that they reluctantly have to agree with the situation.

In the meanwhile, Germany's telecommunications union verdi just lost a strike with Deutsche Telekom. Deutsche Telekom wants to shift 50,000 workers to another business entity, increase their working hours to 38 per week and decrease their pay by 6.5% over the next couple of years. There are a few other clauses that Telekom won; the agreement goes to a vote now to verdi members.

These two events represent a severe weakening in the labor movement in Germany, as well as the centrist politics of the Social Democratic Party. Will Germany's new Left Party, a recently formed political party, gain growing strength from the vacillation of the Social Democrats? Only the next election will tell.