Over 360,000 people in Germany participated in May Day demonstrations, the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB) announced.
Some demonstrators demanded the resignation of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
„Under the slogan „First our jobs, then your profits“ "366,710 people participated in 413 events and demonstrations organized by the German Confederation of Trade Unions on May 1 this year," a statement published on the union's website said.
At a May Day rally in Nuremberg, DGB President Yasmine Fahimi condemned attempts by employers and some politicians to blame ordinary workers for the current crisis. She criticized the possible abolition of the eight-hour workday and the reduction of statutory pension payments.
“Those who violate the working time law do not make work more productive, they only make it more harmful... Those who encroach on pension insurance risk provoking a major social conflict,“ said Fahimi.
Videos and photos posted on social media showed scores of demonstrators holding placards calling for Merz to resign.
A petition calling for the chancellor to resign had collected more than 133,000 signatures by the evening of May 1, out of the 150,000 needed.
Earlier this year, Merz called on Germans to work more amid the worsening situation in the German economy. Fahimi criticized the chancellor, calling the eight-hour workday a "red line" and adding that it should not be extended. According to a poll conducted in mid-April by the RTL and NTV television channels, 80 percent of Germans are dissatisfied with Merz's performance, a record.