The start of a major strike in the public transport sector in Germany.
According to the German “Die Sight” publication, the warning strike in the public transport sector has started with the call of the Verdi and EVG trade unions across Germany. Almost all airports are on strike. In the railway sector alone, 30,000 employees are involved in this protest action.
This major strike in the public transport sector by the Verdi and EVG unions started at midnight last night. Across Germany, around 350,000 workers in various regions have been called to a 24-hour warning strike. The Verdi trade union and the Rail and Transport Union (EVG) had called for a strike over a new round of collective bargaining disputes in the public and railway sectors.
In this way, the movement of trains, buses and planes will be stopped today (Monday) throughout Germany. In the rail sector, intercity traffic is completely interrupted and regional transportation is greatly disrupted. Almost all German airports are on strike, except the Berlin airport. Waterways and ports, as well as the highway company, are also affected by this widespread strike.
Streets in many German states are also expected to be completely blocked, as local public transport workers strike in seven federal states and many people are likely to switch to cars. Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony and large parts of Bavaria are affected by the strike.
According to EVG, more than 30,000 employees in 350 regions are on strike in the railway sector alone. “The tendency to strike is very high among the workers and the anger of the workers towards their employers is very high,” said Christian Loruch, a member of the EVG collective bargaining board, on Monday morning. He added: “We are on strike today because despite the difficult financial conditions for many employees, nothing was offered to us in the collective negotiations that we could negotiate seriously.”
With these warning strikes, the ver.di trade union and EVG want to increase the pressure in the third round of their current collective bargaining. On Monday, Verdi’s union enters its third round of collective bargaining for about 2.5 million public sector workers. The union wants 10.5 percent and at least 500 euros more monthly salary for employees.
Frank Wernecke, president of the Verdi union, said: “With the strike day in the transport sector, the employers must make it clear once again that they support our demands.” Public sector workers, including those in middle-income groups, are particularly burdened by sharp increases in the price of electricity, gas, and food, Werneke said of employers’ claims that warning strikes had weighed on negotiations. They know the weight.
EVG announced that the strike began Sunday evening at the Hamburg-Langenfeld and Eidelstedt plants, and spread overnight to other areas including Frankfurt, Hanover, Karlsruhe, Dusseldorf, and Magdeburg. EVG collective bargaining board member Christian Loruch explained: The desire to strike is very high and the anger of the employees due to the impasse of the negotiations by their employers is very high.
EVG chairman Martin Burkert accused Deutsche Bahn of not making a serious offer in the collective bargaining dispute. Burkert told the Augsburger Allgemeine: “We are working on a practical proposal.” What the railway has put on the table so far is nothing. Instead, Deutsche Bahn is even working on “anti-social demands” such as vacation cuts.
The EVG boss also does not want to rule out further warning strikes over the Easter holidays. According to him, it depends on whether the railway board will make a suitable proposal soon.
EVG is in talks with Deutsche Bahn and about 50 other companies. Over a one-year period, the union is demanding a total wage increase of 12 percent, but at least 650 euros as a social component.
The Pro Bahn passenger association called for a quick agreement between the collective bargaining partners. Karl-Peter Naumann, honorary chairman of Pro-Bahn, told the German Editorial Network (RND) newspapers: “We expect unions and employers to come together quickly and reach a suitable result.”
In light of the collective bargaining dispute, the Association of German Cities and Municipalities (DStGB) warned of an excessive financial burden on municipalities and, ultimately, a greater burden on citizens. Gerd Landsberg, director-general of the association, told Bild that many municipalities “will be forced – because everything is becoming more expensive – to raise waste fees, pool entrances or property taxes, for example.
According to him, in addition, many municipalities, for example, can invest less money for the renovation of school buildings in the future. He emphasized: the financial situation of cities and municipalities is not good in general. Landsberg said a high collective bargaining agreement in the public sector would exacerbate the problem.