Striking changes for the EU

The dog days at the end of July usually see Europe's political leaders retreat to their summer homes, but this year their peace may be disturbed by another European ritual: strikes. 

The CGT, France's second-largest union group by membership, will take to the streets on Tuesday in protest over a new bill that would mandate 'minimum service' during transport strikes, and force individual workers to declare their intention to stop work 48 hours in advance.  Germany may also witness labour unrest. The GDL, a railway engineers' association, has threatened a walkout after refusing a pay deal accepted by two larger rail unions. Its last strike on July 13 brought much of the country's railway network to a standstill before it was lifted by a court order.

Yet this time, the workers may not have their way. French unions face a popular and determined government that looks like keeping its promises of labour market reform. And in Germany, the unions' disunited front deals another blow to the old, cosy system of grand sectoral bargains, in which unions both represented and disciplined their workers. Europe's labour markets are not what they once were.