Reply #19: German Union Mobilizes Over Pay to Avert `One-Leg' Recovery

[Ghost Dog]

Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- German workers are mobilizing to fight for a bigger share of the export-driven recovery, arguing that wage raises are necessary to spur consumer spending in Europe’s biggest economy, an IG Metall union leader said.

So-called warning strikes by steelworkers at ThyssenKrupp AG and Salzgitter AG that began yesterday will “definitely” continue unless employers meet demands for 6 percent more pay, Helga Schwitzer, an IG Metall board member responsible for wage negotiations said in a Sept. 21 interview in Frankfurt.

While exports give Germany a “very strong leg to stand on,” increases are justified because the recovery is at risk without consumer spending, Schwitzer said. “If you’re only standing on one leg, you start to limp,” she said. “The second leg, domestic spending, has to be strengthened.”

Pressure is building for pay raises in Germany after years of belt-tightening.

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-22/german-strikes-mark-mobilization-for-higher-pay-to-avert-one-leg-rebound.html

That's the way to do it.