Tens of thousands demonstrate at the unions' nationwide day of action

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets at rallies on the unions' nationwide day of action for the welfare state and democracy. The police in Nuremberg alone counted between 20,000 and 25,000 people. She named 12,000 participants for Essen and 15,000 for Frankfurt am Main. There were around 13,000 people in Hanover and 5,500 in Berlin. The organizers from the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) sometimes cited higher numbers. In other parts of Germany, tens of thousands also demonstrated under the motto: “Hard earned! Your work. Your health. Your pension.”

DGB chairwoman Yasmin Fahimi announced further action against social cuts at the rally in Essen. “We will not simply allow ourselves to be robbed of the social standards we have built up over many years,” she said. Fahimi once again sharply criticized calls for longer working hours and a relaxation of the eight-hour day. The pension without deductions after 45 years of insurance must also remain.

Verdi boss Frank Werneke accused the ruling coalition of an “attack on the rights of dependent employees and the welfare state”. There must finally be an end to the “class struggle from above,” he said in Frankfurt.