Trade Union Head Says 'Millions' Of Jobs @ Threat From Russian Gas Halt

Handelsblatt reporting that the new head of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) Yasmin Fahimi has stated that 'millions of jobs could be threatened if the Russian gas halt goes on for much longer'. The DGB is an umbrella organisation for eight German unions representing around six million workers.

• The Nord Stream gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany was shut down this morning for a period of 10 days for a routine maintenance period.
• Canada is in the process of sending an interconnector turbine back to Russia, via Germany, to allow Nord Stream to become operational once again.
• Fahimi also stated that firms and unions would not be able to compensate for the rising rate of inflation with collective bargaining alone, and called for more political will to offer financial assistance to workers.
• The strong presence of trade unions in Germany and their important role in major collective bargaining agreements means the gov't, particularly Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats which have close historical links to the trade union movement, are likely to pay close attention to the DGB's comments.