Strike organized by daughters’ collective on International Women’s Day raises labor law issues. Is it a wildcat strike or just a simple demonstration?
The Daughters’ Collective – a nationwide feminist movement – is calling for a strike across Germany today. International Women’s Day has actually been set on March 8th since 1921. However, since it fell on a Sunday in 2026, it was decided to take to the streets on March 9th. In a total of 80 cities, women are supposed to stop working and protest against discriminatory working conditions.
Can all employees go on strike today?
But the term “strike” is actually incorrect. Even if Verdi shows solidarity with the strike, it is not unionized. A strike is only legal “if it is about a goal that can be regulated by a collective agreement” and “a strike is called for by a responsible union,” writes the German Trade Union Confederation. This is also how a strike is defined under labor law.
In addition, Verdi clearly calls on participants to come by after work, for example. Verdi writes: “For legal reasons, we are not calling for a strike, but for other activities such as demos, active lunch breaks, actions on social media, etc.” Since there is neither a stoppage of work nor a union organization of the event, this is more of a demonstration.
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“Women’s Strike”: What if no women were working today?
Women across the country are now being asked to stop working. Even if the “strike” is not big, companies should use the action to reflect. One comment.Read more
Strike: (labor) legal conditions
If employees take part in strikes, they are only protected under labor law by the right to strike against dismissals, for example, if the conditions mentioned above are met. Otherwise it is a wildcat strike and stopping work can have serious consequences. Participation in a wildcat strike violates obligations arising from employment contracts because strikers do not perform any work for the duration of the strike. By doing so, you are committing a breach of contract.
This means that the right to payment of wages by the respective employer is forfeited. Furthermore, the consequences under labor law can lead to extraordinary termination without notice. Companies are also free to demand compensation from their employees if they take part in wildcat strikes.
Gorillas wildcat strikers legally terminated
An example of the consequences of participating in wildcat strikes are the so-called “riders” of the Gorillas delivery service. Hundreds of employees were fired there because of their unlawful participation in the self-organized “strikes”. These dismissals went all the way to the Federal Labor Court, which deemed the dismissals effective:
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Gorillas Rider: Terminations after wildcat strikes are legal
After the wildcat strikes at Gorillas and the subsequent layoffs, three former employees sued the company. They finally lost the case before the BAG.Read moreInfo
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