Fred Henneberger

Switzerland has abolished its former general prohibition of strike for civil servants due to its commitments under international treaties. Thereby, strike has been declared to be admissible in general – with a caveat allowing restrictions for essential services. Since then, strikes and similar measures in the public service have been observed repeatedly. In spite of the fact that Germany is subject to comparable international commitments with respect to the right to strike, it holds on to its general prohibition of strike for civil servants up to now. Recently, several decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and their handling in cases regarding the strike of German teachers employed as established civil servants have heightened the discussion (already intense since the 1970s) whether the prohibition of strike derived from the status of civil servant can and will be upheld in the future. In our view, it seems appropriate to decide on the admissibility of a prohibition of strike based on the extent to which the sovereign function concretely performed is indispensable for the community, within the limits defined by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.