A warning strike (Warnstreik) is a short, time-limited walkout used as leverage in collective bargaining. It is normally organised by a trade union and is intended to move the employer towards concessions. Unlike a full strike, a warning strike lasts only a few hours or a single day.
Why warning strikes matter for security
During a warning strike, companies can face a range of risks:
- Unauthorised access: strikers or third parties may attempt to enter the site.
- Conflict situations: tension between striking and non-striking staff can escalate.
- Disruption to operations: absent staff or blocked entrances can interfere with normal workflows.
- Vandalism and sabotage: in some cases there is damage to property or tampering with machinery or IT systems.
Using security services during a warning strike
To keep operations running smoothly, companies frequently call on professional security services. Their tasks include:
✔ Property protection: guarding buildings, machinery and sensitive areas.
✔ Access control: making sure only authorised people enter the site.
✔ De-escalation and conflict management: preventing confrontations between strikers and other staff.
✔ Protection of managers and key personnel: accompanying and safeguarding people exposed to potential risk.
✔ Monitoring critical infrastructure: making sure production plant or IT systems are not tampered with.
What is the difference? Warning strike versus strike
A warning strike is a short, time-limited walkout that usually lasts only a few hours or one day. It serves as leverage during ongoing collective bargaining and is used by trade unions to move the employer towards concessions.
A full strike, by contrast, is a longer walkout that normally only follows the failure of collective bargaining and an official strike ballot. A strike can run for days, weeks or even months until an agreement is reached.
📌 In short:
- Warning strike = short-term, tactical leverage, permitted while negotiations are ongoing
- Strike = long-term, after negotiations have failed and a ballot has been held
Are security officers allowed to strike?
In principle, all employees in Germany have the right to strike, provided the action is a union-organised strike in the context of collective bargaining. For certain occupational groups, however, there are restrictions, particularly in security-critical fields.
1. The right to strike in private security
✔ Yes, security officers at private companies may strike, provided they are employed under a collective agreement.
✔ A warning strike or full strike can be called at a private security company when unions are fighting for better pay or working conditions.
2. Restrictions for security-critical occupations
In systemically important fields the rules are strict:
❌ Police officers with civil-servant status: no right to strike, because they form part of the state’s exercise of public authority.
❌ Staff in critical infrastructure (for example aviation security, emergency and rescue services): restricted or no right to strike, so that public safety is not endangered.
❌ Certain security staff in the public sector (for example court security officers, guards at nuclear power stations): the right to strike may be limited by statute.
3. Emergency service agreements during strikes
In security-relevant fields, emergency service agreements can be concluded. These ensure that a minimum staffing level for critical duties is maintained during a strike (for example airport security, or property protection at high-security installations).
Striking without a union
May workers who are not union members take part in a strike? Yes – the right to strike applies to all employees, whether or not they belong to a union. What matters is that the strike is lawful, that is, organised by a union and conducted within a collective bargaining dispute.
- If the strike is lawful, the employer may not impose employment-law consequences such as formal warnings or dismissal.
- Spontaneous (“wildcat”) strikes that are not organised by a union are unlawful.
- Neither the works council nor any other group may call a strike.
- During a strike, however, there is no entitlement to pay.
- Union members have an advantage here: they receive strike pay to compensate for lost earnings. Non-members get nothing.
- Anyone taking part in a strike not organised by a union risks employment-law consequences such as formal warnings or dismissal.
- In some cases the company can even claim damages from those taking part.
📌 In short:
✔ Employees may take part in a lawful strike, even without union membership.
❌ Strikes held without a union calling them are not permitted – they count as an unlawful walkout.
Legal requirements for security services
Security services may take on the protection of the company during a warning strike, but may not intervene actively in the strike. They have to comply with the law on assembly and industrial action law and may not obstruct strikers. Their principal task is to maintain security and prevent escalation.