03/26/2023 1:41 pm (act. 03/26/2023 1:41 pm)
Union does not want to retreat ©APA/dpa
Ahead of the big strike announced for Monday in Germany, which will also have a massive impact on air and rail traffic in Austria and elsewhere, the Verdi union is threatening new measures. Verdi boss Frank Werneke told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that a wide-ranging industrial dispute was possible if the union’s demands were not met. No one would like an indefinite strike in the public sector.
“I hope the bosses don’t let it get to that”, said the union leader. The joint labor dispute with the railway union EVG in transport will not fail to have an effect. “There hasn’t been a strike like this for 31 years,” Werneke said. “Better a day when nothing moves in Germany, and then a wage deal that is acceptable to employees, than failure and weeks of discussions as a result, which in the end affect the population much more.”
The 24-hour warning strike starts on Monday at 00:00 (CEST). Both train and bus traffic and airports will be largely at a standstill across the country. Ship and highway traffic, as well as local public transport in several federal states, are also affected. Unions are increasing the pressure on hitherto unsuccessful collective bargaining.
The strike will also have major repercussions in Austria. All train connections via Deutsches Eck are affected. A shuttle service will be arranged every two hours. Trips can take up to three hours longer. Trains to and from Germany will be shortened or cancelled. Many air connections with the neighboring country will also be cancelled. Swiss airports and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), meanwhile, advised against traveling to Germany on Monday.
In Munich, the second largest German airport is already on strike today (Sunday), as a spokeswoman for Verdi said. Ground personnel such as security and baggage handling stopped working. An airport spokeswoman said all regular take-offs and landings had been canceled and that there were only ambulances and emergency flights. All 1,500 originally planned connections will be dropped on both days. The Federal Association of the German Aviation Industry (BDL) reiterated its criticism of the strike scheduled for Monday at almost all German airports. 380,000 travelers are affected, including 260,000 passengers with German airlines. “The economic damage is huge for companies,” said the BDL.
Meanwhile, the rail and transport union EVG has ruled out further warning strikes during the upcoming Easter break. “There will be no strikes over Easter,” said an EVG spokesman. The objective is to reach employers with union action, but not travelers. Deutsche Bahn will completely stop long-distance traffic on Monday. “Even in regional and S-Bahn traffic from DB Regio, no trains will run since the start of the strike.” Whether individual connections can be started in regional traffic on Monday afternoon depends on the course of the strike. Freight traffic will be largely held back “to allow trains to start running quickly after the strike”. Travelers would have to expect damage from Sunday night onwards. The railroad called the labor dispute excessive, unfounded and unnecessary and appealed to the EVG to continue negotiating quickly.
EVG is negotiating about 230,000 employees from 50 train and bus companies, for whom they want 12 percent more salaries, but at least 650 euros more per month. Verdi is negotiating for the approximately 2.5 million civil servants in the federal and municipal governments, including those working in local transport and airports. The union demands 10.5 percent more, but at least 500 euros a month. The next round of negotiations is scheduled for Monday to Wednesday in Potsdam. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Friday: “I am sure that next week we will find a good deal for the valuable work of our civil servants.”
Several German federal states have lifted a truck driving ban that otherwise applies on Sundays or wish to dispense with controls.