Throughout Germany, traffic with trains, buses and planes has largely come to a standstill. A widespread warning strike by several unions began at midnight. The defaults are likely to lead to significant failures and traffic jams in the entire German transport sector. They should last 24 hours.
Verdi boss Frank Werneke emphasized with a view to the further collective bargaining round for the public sector, which is also starting today: “The strike day in the transport sector should once again make it unmistakably clear to employers that the employees clearly support our demands.” Regarding allegations by the employers that the warning strikes were a burden on the negotiations, Werneke said: “Public service employees, including those in the middle income groups, see the enormous price increases for electricity, gas and food as a particular burden.”
On the rails, long-distance traffic will be completely discontinued and regional traffic will largely be discontinued. Almost all German airports are on strike. Waterways and ports like the one in Hamburg and the Autobahn company are also affected. Full streets are also to be expected because local public transport is to be on strike in seven federal states. Many people are then likely to switch to the car.
Rail:
The railway and transport union (EVG) strikes long-distance, regional and S-Bahn traffic. Long-distance traffic is completely discontinued, regional traffic is largely discontinued. According to Bahn, emergency timetables are not possible. Effects should be felt since Sunday evening and on Tuesday. According to Bahn, passengers who have booked a train journey for today or tomorrow can use the ticket flexibly until April 4th. Seat reservations could be canceled free of charge.
Airports:
The German airports are largely on strike by the Verdi union. According to the airport association ADV, 380,000 business and private travelers have to stay on the ground. The capital’s airport BER should not be affected, but the largest airport in Frankfurt or Munich Airport, which ceased operations yesterday. According to the aviation industry, this will also make preparations for Easter travel more difficult.
local transport:
Local transport is to be struck again in all federal states that are directly linked to the collective agreement for the public sector. These are Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony. There should also be a strike in Bavaria, where a collective agreement for local transport is being negotiated. It was said from several countries that schoolchildren could stay at home if they could not come to school because of the warning strike.
Strike day at the start of the third wage round
With the warning strikes, Verdi and EVG want to increase the pressure in their current collective bargaining rounds. Under tense circumstances, Verdi and the civil servants’ association dbb are again meeting the local authorities and the federal government in Potsdam today. This is where the third round of negotiations for 2.5 million workers begins.
Both sides are still far from each other, but an agreement in the days that follow cannot be ruled out. The head of the civil servants’ association dbb, Ulrich Silberbach, warned against an expansion of the labor disputes. “Either we cut the knot and find an agreement, or we face another wave of escalation and strikes,” said Silberbach of the German Press Agency.
More collective bargaining
What is special about the day of the strike is the interweaving of various collective bargaining agreements. At the EVG, there are further talks with the various railway companies from the middle of the week. Negotiations with Deutsche Bahn should only continue after Easter.
According to Verdi, the round for public service at the airports is affected because of the municipal employees, but also local negotiations for ground handling services and nationwide talks for aviation security. The coordinated approach met with severe criticism from employers – the strikes for the population were no longer recognizable as a pure warning strike.
