The warning strike is scheduled to last from Sunday to midnight on Monday and will affect much of rail and bus transport, as well as airports, roads and shipping. Unions are demanding double-digit wage increases.
Millions of passengers and travelers will have to reckon with a widespread collapse in traffic in Germany on Monday. Both train and bus traffic and airports will be largely brought to a standstill across the country, as the services union Verdi and the rail and transport union (EVG) announced on Thursday in Berlin. The warning strike is expected to last from Sunday to midnight on Monday. It also affects ship and highway traffic, as well as local public transport in several federal states. Both unions want to put pressure on previously unsuccessful collective bargaining. The aviation industry and airports criticized the shutdown as excessive. The tariff dispute will be held behind the backs of travelers.
Verdi chairman Frank Werneke said they would now act together in the collective dispute. Verdi is calling on around 120,000 employees from the transport and infrastructure sectors to participate in the union action. Airports, as well as the water and transport administration and the highway company are affected. “There will be extensive restrictions on air traffic,” Werneke said.
“We have to realize that employers are still turning a blind eye to the needs of employees,” said EVG chief Martin Burkert. “We don’t want more lineups. We want a negotiable offer.”
Verdi’s union demands 10.5% more wages
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. EVG negotiates around 230,000 employees in 50 train and bus companies and insists on twelve percent more salary, but at least €650 more per month.
Offers from Deutsche Bahn or public employers are comparable and include five percent more wages and one-off payments of up to €2,500. Both sides blame each other for the failure of wage talks in February and March.
Aviation criticizes strike and speaks of “French conditions”
German aviation was critical of the strike. “The continuous chain of so-called warning strikes at our airports is affecting all flight operations, even where there are no salary negotiations,” said Jost Lammers, president of the German Aviation Association (BDL). “It will make intensive preparations for the upcoming Easter trip much more difficult.” The victims are travelers as well as airlines, who are now keen to get back to smooth flight operations after pandemic-related travel restrictions, said Lammers, who is also head of Munich Airport.
The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Verkehrsflughäfen (ADV) described the industrial action as disproportionate and excessive. “This has nothing to do with a warning,” said ADV general manager Ralph Beisel. “Rather, it is an attempt to introduce French conditions into Germany through a general strike.”
(Portal)