strike
noun · Streik
Streik, the collective withdrawal of labour, but there is no express right to strike in Germany: it is judge-made law flowing from the freedom of association, Art. 9 Abs. 3 GG, and it is lawful only under strict conditions, so a strike outside them exposes those taking part to dismissal and the union to damages.
Which translation, when
Why
Strike is Streik, and the trap is to assume a broad, freestanding right like that of some other systems. Germany has no strike statute and no article granting a right to strike; the courts derive it from the freedom of association, Art. 9 Abs. 3 GG, as the instrument that makes collective bargaining work. That derivation brings tight conditions. A strike is lawful only if it is carried by a union, so a spontaneous stoppage without union backing, a wilder Streik, is unlawful; only if its aim is something that can be regulated in a collective agreement, so a political strike is unlawful; only as a last resort and within proportionality; and only outside the Friedenspflicht, the obligation to keep the peace while a collective agreement runs. The consequences differ sharply. In a lawful strike the duty to work is suspended and so is pay, and a Maßregelungsverbot bars penalising participants. In an unlawful strike the participants breach their employment duty and may face a warning and a conduct-based dismissal, while the union leading it can be liable in damages. Streik names the employees’ action; Arbeitskampf is the wider industrial-dispute concept that also covers the employer’s Aussperrung. So rendering the word as Streik is right, but importing an unconditional right to strike misstates a right hedged by union backing, bargainable aims and the peace obligation.
Typical mistakes
- There is no express German right to strike; it is judge-made from Art. 9 Abs. 3 GG and lawful only if union-led, aimed at a bargainable goal and outside the peace obligation, so presenting an unconditional right to strike is wrong.
- A wilder Streik without union backing exposes the participants to dismissal, while a union-led but unlawful strike exposes the union to damages, so treating any stoppage as protected misstates the risk.
- Streik is the employees’ action while Arbeitskampf is the wider concept including the employer’s Aussperrung, so using one for the other blurs the pair.
What matters
Rendering an industrial-action question under German law, the translation should use Streik for the stoppage, note that it is lawful only if union-led, aimed at a bargainable goal and outside the Friedenspflicht, Art. 9 Abs. 3 GG, and reserve Arbeitskampf for the wider concept. Presenting an unconditional right to strike misstates when participation is protected.
What the machine misses
Machine output renders strike as Streik but then treats it as an unconditional protected right. It loses that Germany has no express right to strike, that the courts derive it from Art. 9 Abs. 3 GG only for union-led action aimed at a bargainable goal and outside the peace obligation, and that an unlawful strike exposes the participants, or the union that called it, to dismissal or damages. The rendering hides the conditions on which lawfulness depends.
Examples
| the right to strike | das Streikrecht |
| a warning strike | ein Warnstreik |
| an unlawful strike | ein rechtswidriger Streik |
| industrial action | der Arbeitskampf |