In the year 2007 there were 580.000 lost workdays due to strikes which is a new record in 14 years. This is at least that which said Mr. Hagen Lesch, an expert from the Institute for the German economy (IW) in Cologne, in an interview with the Frankfurter Rundschau. Main culprits are the striking Telekom employees. They were responsible for about 70% of the working days lost, while train drivers were relatively moderately striking (8%).
This applies, however, only as long as indirect losses caused by strikes are not included in the equation. Including all the side effects the railway strikes were certainly a bigger burden to the economy than the Telecom strikes.
Lesch is less worried about upcoming wage strikes than he is with regard to blocking strikes like the one by Telekom employees. In general, wage strikes lasted less. Furthermore the good economic situation justified significant wage rises. Even the strike by train drivers would soon come to an end given that the GDL union would otherwise have to face strike bans due to disproportion. 