The chairwoman of the German Federation of Trade Unions, Yasmin Fahimi, called for better conditions for employees on Labor Day and condemned employers' collective bargaining. “Collective agreements make employees free people in the world of work,” said the DGB leader in Hanover.

Higher wages, fair pay and regulated working hours are the right of employees, she said at the central rally of the trade union federation, where, according to the DGB, more than 10,000 people had gathered. The police in the Lower Saxony state capital spoke of 2,500 participants.

Fahimi specifically quantified the damage caused by the lack of wage agreements. Employers' collective bargaining is causing economic damage of 130 billion euros annually, she said, and is calling for a federal collective bargaining law.

Fahimi: A Europe of isolation would be a catastrophe

With a view to the European elections in June, the DGB chairwoman called for democratic voting. “We want a Europe for the people and good and peaceful coexistence,” she said. However, a Europe of isolation, as right-wing populists ultimately demand, would be an economic catastrophe, especially for Germany.

According to its own statements, the DGB celebrated Labor Day with hundreds of rallies and events on the streets and squares in Germany. In Hamburg, around 7,000 people followed the DGB call. At the start of the procession in Berlin through the center of the capital, the police estimated the number of participants at 7,500.