May 1 Bulletin of ‘Arbeit Zukunft’
Originally at: https://www.kollwitz.de/en/never-again-war-kn-205
We have previously written on this great artist at December 2000; Alliance #28 ;
And at Berlin Left 20 November 2023
Introduction
We last carried materials on current day Germany on February 7. 2025 (The “Metamorphoses’ of Would be CDU Chancellor Friederich Merz and the 2025 German Federal Elections). That was before the election which was won overall by the Merz party the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian close ally (CSU). Being unable to form a government by themselves, they united with the Social-Democrats of the SPD in a so-called Black-Red (Schwarz-Rot) coalition.
Both parties were completely united on the economic front. The Black-Red Coalition moved to amend the Constitutional ruling of the “Debt Brake” as described on February 7, 2025. While the SPD had been calling for this under the prior coalition government led by Scholz – the Merz Conservative parties had claimed to be stoutly against taking on “more debt”. There were ultimately no differences between “Black” and “Red” : This despite the posturing of the SPD in asking for more spending on infra-structure (necessary to prevent even more bridges falling, and to prevent even more delays on Deutsches Bahn (Railways) etc . . .
After all, facts are forceful – the German economy was tanking; the Trump Tariff wars were startling – and the USA was trying to force both the EU and especially Germany – into discarding its China markets. So – Merz – suddenly switched 180 degrees:
“The country’s economy, Europe’s largest, is suffering the most protracted slump in its postwar history. German GDP shrank by 0.2 per cent last year and by 0.3 per cent in 2023. Friedrich Merz, who is set to be voted into office as German chancellor next month, has vowed to reinvigorate the economy with higher debt-funded spending on infrastructure and defence, as well as tax subsidies for investment and deregulation.”
Olaf Storbeck and Anne-Sylvaine Chassany “Germany downgrades 2025 growth forecast to zero”: Financial Times 24 April, 2025
This new ability of the German ruling class to take on debt – on the scale that all other capitalist countries have been able to do – aims to open the way to a revival of the German economy.
But this is not aimed primarily to improve the situation of the German working class. It is Firstly designed to ensure profits remain high for the ruling class; and Secondly to shift industrial production dramatically to a war economy where production of arms is central. As the Financial Times noted:
“Starting next year, Görlitz’s 176-year-old train factory will start producing components for Leopard II main battle tanks and Puma infantry fighting vehicles after defence contractor KNDS stepped in late last year to take over the site that train maker Alstom had decided to shut down. Like many manufacturers in Western Europe, Alstom shut down the plant as part of a broader push to cut costs by shifting production to lower-wage
countries. . .
Rheinmetall, Diehl Defence, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and MBDA — four defence contractors with a large presence in Germany — have, over the past three years, together added more than 16,500 employees, an increase of more than 40 per cent. They plan to hire roughly 12,000 more by 2026, they told the Financial Times. . . .
At a ceremony held to mark the handover at the Görlitz plant in February, KNDS’ chief operating officer Florian Hohenwarter said the tank maker had picked the plant as it already had “precisely the highly trained specialists we need to produce the highest-quality components for our vehicles” referring mainly to skilled welders.”
Patricia Nilsson; “From trains to tanks: Germany’s rearmament marks industrial shift” Financial Times, April 23, 2025
In the same article, the intensified war spending is shown as in this figure below.
Hence the hand-bill flyer from ‘Arbeit Zukunft’ (Germany) for May 1 demonstrations is very important and timely.
We reproduce this in translation below.
From Arbeit Zukunft (Workers Future)
1 May 2025
NOW IT’S UP TO ALL OF US!
…BECAUSE JOB CUTBACKS AND REAL WAGE LOSS THREATEN OUR FUTURE!
VW, Bosch, Audi, SAP, ThyssenKrupp – the list is long.
Many large corporations, especially in industry, are currently implementing strict rationalization and austerity measures, and are thereby destroying tens of thousands of jobs. No job guarantees and no polite pleas will stop employers from laying off colleagues if they sense the opportunity to generate higher profits! Companies are aiming to save hundreds of millions to several billion euros annually, and this is at the expense of the workers. The aim is to increase productivity, and that ultimately means:
work intensification and time pressure are increasing.
And while profit margins are supposed to rise, our real wages are shrinking ever more drastically. With increasingly bold proposals, companies are trying to push us onto the defensive and squeeze every last cent out of us. They’re even trying to force us to forgo wages in more and more companies in order to enable the desired dividend payments. Hardly any collective bargaining agreement in recent years has managed to halt this downward trend, let alone reverse it. In extreme cases, like the one at VW, our colleagues are even being forced to forgo wages. To change something, we must actively represent our interests within the company and in the union. Passivity and resignation only help the employers.
…BECAUSE THE OLD AND NEW GOVERNMENTS ARE WORKING AGAINST US!
After the progressive coalition pushed through cuts in all areas, the coalition agreement between the CDU and SPD shows where things are headed: Taxes on corporations are to be reduced, old-age poverty is to be combated by simply allowing pensioners to continue working, and the attacks on the welfare state are to become even more rampant and extensive.
Even before the new coalition was formed, the CDU and SPD had pushed through a special fund of €500 billion to maintain the competitiveness of German companies and corporations, while the federal government fought for every cent against the 2.7 million public sector employees. The bottom line is that the completely overworked colleagues are left alone with the more than 570,000 vacant positions in the public sector, and the downward spiral will continue.
…BECAUSE ARMAMENT BRINGS WAR!
Just three years ago, 100 billion for the military was enough to bring about a turning point. Today, we have the suspension of the military debt brake, 800 billion for European “defense,” and billions more for war-ready infrastructure – this represents the largest rearmament since World War II. But the narrative of defense becomes unbelievable when we see that Germany – contrary to the majority of the German population – is already actively participating in wars by supplying weapons to Ukraine and Israel, and is making itself a target of attacks by stationing US medium-range missiles. This rearmament does not make Germany safer, but rather significantly increases the danger to the population! At the very latest, during the discussion about conscription, it will become clear who will pay the price in an emergency.
…BECAUSE WE MUST FIGHT FOR A BETTER AND SAFER LIFE!
The attacks by politics and capital on our living and working conditions are becoming ever more ruthless.
Today, conditions prevail again in which hundreds of thousands of workers must fear losing their jobs and thus their daily bread at any time. In these conditions, important and hard-won achievements of the labor movement are at stake – be it the 8-hour day, continued payment of wages, or even the 40-hour week. In these conditions, preparations for the Bundeswehr’s worldwide military operations are being pushed forward at breakneck speed, and Germany is increasingly being pushed into the center of future wars – especially by the German federal government. This capitalist society has less and less to offer us and is increasingly turning against us.
These developments must be stopped!
Not only to defend existing rights and achievements, but also to fight for a better and more secure life, we need a strong workers’ movement again today. Instead of capitalism, we need a different, solidarity-based society, socialism, which has learned from the shortcomings of its first attempt. Only the millions of working people possess the necessary strength and a common interest that will allow this policy to be stopped.
A lot is at stake – it is time for us to fight back!
See also 27 February 2025; “What does Trump mean for Europe?” Reprint from ‘Arbeit Zukunft’ (Workers Future) – via MLRG.online
The web site for ‘Arbeit Zukunft’ is here
