In more than 80 cities: strikes hit German local transport

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The Verdi union wants to increase the pressure on employers with industrial action in the ongoing collective labor agreement dispute over public transport in fifteen states. Local transport is affected in more than 80 cities and about 40 districts.

Only in Bavaria there are no strikes because the collective labor agreements there are still valid. At the largest German local transport company, the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), the strike only lasts until 10 a.m. For most other strike locations, industrial action should last all day, Verdi stressed. According to Verdi, only Aachen as a larger city is not affected, nor is the Mannheim-Heidelberg-Ludwigshafen region.

The warning strike is likely to have a particularly strong impact in the most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). According to Verdi, about a third of the 90,000 employees had an influence on national work in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The day before, the union had largely brought nationwide air traffic in Germany to a standstill. Just a few days earlier, a multi-day strike by the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) at Deutsche Bahn had ended prematurely.

The background is parallel collective labor agreement negotiations in public transport in almost all states. In most rounds the emphasis is mainly on the working conditions of employees. Verdi demands, among other things, shorter working hours without financial losses, longer rest periods between individual shifts, more vacation days or more holiday pay. This is intended to reduce the burden on employees and make the job more attractive.

Employers also see the need to become more attractive and modern in order to find staff in the limited labor market. At the same time, they fear a higher workload for existing employees and high costs if they work fewer hours.

(SDA)

Source: Blick