Buses and trams in Leipzig remained in the depots on Wednesday morning due to a warning strike. According to the Verdi union, local public transport was at a standstill. Nothing was said by early morning, said the state district manager of the union, Paul Schmidt. In the morning he assumed that the situation would continue in the coming hours.
The Verdi union had called on all employees and trainees of the Leipzig public transport company to go on the all-day warning strike. The transport company had announced on Twitter that “the scheduled services of buses and trams will largely be discontinued”. Regional trains, regional buses and S-Bahn trains are not affected.
According to Schmidt, it was still unclear whether the transport company would use trains and buses in connection with RB Leipzig’s Champions League game against Manchester City in the evening and hire drivers for them. “Of course that wouldn’t be in our interest,” said the union man. How many employees took part in the warning strike was initially unclear.
“While the Leipzig transport company is boasting about its new trams, electric buses and the planned expansion of services, the staff is completely left behind,” Schmidt wrote in an announcement about the warning strike. When it comes to paying employees in this area, Saxony brings up the rear nationwide. Verdi demands at least 500 euros more per month for employees and 200 euros more for trainees in collective bargaining.
