I didn't say it was a limited concept. I said it wasn't the case in lots of other countries. Just because it's something that happens in Germany successfully, and in other countries with mixed results doesn't mean anything at all. Ignoring the United States (as many Europeans are wont to do for some reason) is pretty daft, given that they're the world's biggest economy.
Nor should you simply look at the days lost to strikes as an arbiter of the success or otherwise of the concept - it's more complex than that. Germany itself has had a very difficult 30 years economically, and been outperformed by the UK for most of that period. The Germans themselves have wondered whether their system is indeed a good one, as wages have increased and competitiveness declined. You could make a pretty good argument that their structural difficulties have been assuaged by the way they've managed the Euro - it's just caused devastation elsewhere.
Like anything, I never trust any idea that purports to be a solution to all ills.