After failed collective bargaining, Austrian railway workers halted train services on Monday with a 24-hour warning strike. According to the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), cross-border connections with Switzerland and other countries will also be affected by the measure from Sunday.
SBB will provide detailed information about the strike on all digital customer channels from 4 p.m. on Sunday, spokeswoman Sarah Schmidlin told Keystone-SDA news agency.
Cross-border traffic between Switzerland and Austria is basically affected. Customers are therefore advised not to travel to Austria by train during the strike. It is possible to have tickets refunded at the respective points of sale.
No night connections either
In night traffic, the Nightjet and EuroNight connections with departures on Sunday and Monday are cancelled. Affected travelers are requested to contact the booking office to rebook.
According to the SBB, the Railjet xpress (RJX) and EuroCity (EC) between Zurich HB, Sargans, Buchs SG and Austria will be discontinued on Monday without replacement in daytime traffic. The SBB recommends switching to national connections between Zürich HB and Buchs SG.
No EuroCity to Munich
The EuroCity (EC) Zurich HB – Munich Hbf in both directions between St. Gallen and Lindau-Reutin is also canceled without replacement. Affected travelers recommend that the SBB travel via Romanshorn or Schaffhausen – Stuttgart/Ulm.
SWISS Air Rail and Lufthansa Express Rail travelers may also be affected by the strike. SBB recommends that you contact the relevant customer service to change your booking.
Buses and other public transport in Austria are not affected by the strike.
Fixed wage increase demanded
The vida union, which represents some 50,000 railway workers in Austria, had demanded a flat-rate wage increase of 400 euros, which, according to workers’ representatives, would represent an average increase of around 12 percent.
The Chamber of Commerce, which negotiates on the employer’s side, recently increased its offer to 8.4 percent. Inflation in Austria was 11 percent on an annual basis in October.
However, on Sunday morning, both sides said talks had failed for now and blamed each other. (sda/dpa/apa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
