Migration policy: Time for a general strike
Background & Context
This piece is a political commentary, and the proposed general strike is a deliberately provocative thought experiment. The factual premise behind it is real, however: Germany now relies heavily on foreign workers in several sectors.
This is especially clear in nursing and care work. In 2025, about one in five care workers held a foreign nationality; the share was around 24% in outpatient and residential care and 17% in hospitals and clinics.
Among practicing physicians, 16% do not hold German citizenship. The share is higher still if naturalized immigrants are included.
Since 2024, overall employment growth in Germany has been driven entirely by foreign workers. The impact is also measurable in eastern Germany.
Workers without German citizenship generated around 10.5% of total economic output there in 2025. Without further immigration, the working-age population in the eastern German states excluding Berlin would shrink by almost 22% by 2045, according to a recent projection by the German Economic Institute (IW), a business-oriented research institute.
Still, the author goes too far in claiming that hospitals, nursing homes, public transport and retail function “only” because of migrant labor. A sudden loss of a large share of these workers would create serious staffing shortages and could severely disrupt individual sectors.
But the available data do not show that all of them would simply cease to function without migrants. There is also an important distinction between people with a migration background and those who could actually be affected by the AfD’s migration policies.
The AfD, a right-wing party in Germany, says it wants to more consistently deport people who are legally required to leave the country, while also stating that well-integrated foreign workers should not be deported. A strike by everyone with a migration background would therefore involve a far broader group than the people targeted by the party’s official “remigration” proposals.
The proposal also raises legal issues. Under the prevailing view in German labor law, political general strikes aimed primarily at influencing government policy are generally considered unlawful.
Article Profile
Dramatization
Pronounced
8/10
The article emphasizes events emotionally and relies on distinctly dramatizing language.
Moralizing
Pronounced
9/10
The article judges the topic in clearly moral terms and takes a firm stance.
Sharpening
Pronounced
8/10
The article frames the topic in a strongly sharpened, confrontational way.
Objectivity
Medium
4/10
The article mixes factual information with evaluative elements.
Review Transparency
In addition to identifying the piece as commentary, we examined the main factual premise behind the call for a general strike: the importance of immigrants and foreign workers to Germany’s labor market, nursing and health care. Current data from Germany’s Federal Employment Agency and the German Medical Association confirm substantial reliance on foreign workers.
Around 20% of care workers and 16% of practicing physicians hold a foreign nationality. Recent calculations for eastern Germany also show that foreign workers make a significant contribution to economic output.
These figures do not, however, support the much broader claim that the sectors named in the article would cease to function without migrants. It is also important to distinguish between people with a migration background, foreign workers, refugees and people who are legally required to leave Germany.
The article partly blurs these categories even though they differ substantially in both legal status and their role in the labor market. We therefore also reviewed the official migration positions of the AfD, a right-wing party in Germany.
The party advocates substantially tougher deportation policies but does not officially propose removing all foreign workers or everyone with a migration background. A strike involving all migrants would therefore not directly simulate the effects of those policies.
Finally, the proposed general strike also raises a separate legal issue: under the prevailing view in German labor law, political strikes aimed primarily at influencing government policy are generally considered unlawful.
Impact Check
Does it affect you?
60% impact
German society could be affected by political tensions, as a general strike is being discussed.
Security risk?
10% impact
No direct security risk for Germany, as there is no immediate threat.
Historic?
75% impact
There have been similar political tensions in the past, for example during debates on asylum and migration policy.
Why is this article's headline most likely opinion piece
The headline should be read as an opinion piece: the author explicitly calls for a general strike by migrants and other affected groups to demonstrate their importance to German society. His basic economic premise is partly well supported.
Foreign workers have become particularly important in nursing, health care and other labor-intensive sectors, and without immigration Germany’s labor shortages and demographic pressures would be significantly worse. But the sweeping claim that these sectors would not function at all without migrants goes too far.
A strike by everyone with a migration background would also not reflect which groups would actually be affected by the AfD’s official migration policies. The party itself says it does not want to deport well-integrated foreign workers.
The proposed general strike is therefore primarily a political statement rather than a realistic simulation of the consequences of AfD policy. As a political general strike, it would also generally be considered unlawful under current German labor law.
The comparison with AfD leader Alice Weidel is speculative as well. The article suggests that her own migration policies could affect her partner or family.
There is no solid basis for that conclusion in the AfD’s officially stated positions. Foreign origin or a migration background alone does not make someone subject to deportation or “remigration”; residence status, citizenship and the specific legal rules would be decisive.
This analysis is based on a journalistic report by nd-aktuell.de. The rating and context were produced with AI assistance.
AI Transparency
This analysis was produced, structured and editorially reviewed with AI-assisted systems. The rating refers to the specific statement examined and is based on the sources cited.
Methodology & AI Transparency