Only a few local transport trains from private operators are scheduled to run this Monday.
(Photo: IMAGO/Christian Grube)
Berlin Traffic with trains, buses and planes in Germany largely came to a standstill on Monday morning. A major warning strike by the EVG railway union and Verdi has been going on since midnight. Millions of commuters and travelers as well as large parts of freight transport are affected by the 24-hour industrial dispute. As a result of the work stoppages, significant failures and traffic jams are expected in nationwide traffic.
Long-distance rail traffic has been completely discontinued and regional traffic has largely been discontinued. Almost all German airports are on strike. Waterways and ports as well as the motorway company are also affected. Public transport is also on strike in seven federal states.
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With the all-day warning strikes, the Verdi union and the railway and transport union (EVG) want to increase the pressure in their collective bargaining. Parallel to the strike, trade unions and employers in the public sector will meet again this Monday for talks. At the EVG, further negotiations with Deutsche Bahn and other railway companies will take place later.
Verdi boss Frank Werneke emphasized: “The strike day in the transport sector should once again make it unmistakably clear to employers that the employees clearly support our demands.”
The day of the strike in the transport sector should once again make it unmistakably clear to employers that the employees clearly support our demands. Verdi boss Frank Werneke
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.”
The President of the Association of Municipal Employers’ Associations, Karin Welge, criticized the walkout. “We already agreed last year to come together in three rounds of negotiations. And that’s why the massiveness of the strikes before the third round of negotiations is clearly astonishing,” she said on the radio station Bayern 2. She would also like to see a conclusion, said Welge. “At the moment I’m assuming that this will succeed.”
Traffic connections are restricted nationwide due to a warning strike
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,” he told the German Press Agency.
The situation at a glance:
Big warning strike: 30,000 railway employees lay down work
The EVG strikes the long-distance, regional and S-Bahn traffic. According to the railway and transport union, more than 30,000 employees at 350 locations in the railway sector alone took part by early morning. “The willingness to go on strike is very high, and the employees’ anger at being stalled by their employers is huge,” said EVG collective bargaining board member Kristian Loroch. “We are on strike today because, despite the difficult financial situation for many employees, we were not presented with anything in the collective bargaining that we could seriously negotiate.”
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The consequences are serious: Long-distance traffic is stopped, regional traffic for the most part, at least at the beginning of the strike. According to Deutsche Bahn, whether individual lines will be included in regional traffic in the afternoon depends on the course of the strike. Effects should also be felt on Tuesday. According to Bahn, passengers who have booked a trip for Monday or Tuesday can use the ticket flexibly until April 4th. Seat reservations can be canceled free of charge.
Airports: 380,000 travelers have to stay on the ground because of a strike
The airports are largely struck by Verdi. According to the airport association ADV, 380,000 business and private travelers have to stay on the ground. The largest airport in Frankfurt is also affected, as is Munich Airport, which ceased operations on Sunday. The capital’s airport BER was not directly affected by the warning strike. But since almost all other German airports are on strike, all domestic German flights were canceled there.
According to the airport association ADV, 380,000 business and private travelers have to stay on the ground.
(Photo: IMAGO/Marc John)
Public transport: Students are allowed to stay at home
Local transport is to be struck again in the 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. Several countries said that students should stay at home if they cannot come to school.
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Employees and their wages and salaries are the subject of negotiations between Verdi and the civil servants’ association dbb.
Strike day at the start of the third round of collective bargaining by Verdi and DBB:
Verdi and the civil servants’ association dbb are negotiating in Potsdam with the federal government and the municipalities in the third round for 2.5 million employees. Both sides are still a long way from each other, but an agreement in the next few days 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,” he told the German Press Agency.
Other collective bargaining:
The background to the labor disputes are various wage disputes. At the EVG, there are further talks with various railway companies from the middle of the week. Negotiations with Deutsche Bahn should only continue after Easter. At airports, municipal public service employees are involved, but local negotiations for ground handling services and nationwide discussions for aviation security are also involved. The coordinated approach met with severe criticism from employers – the strikes for the population were no longer recognizable as a pure warning strike.
After the start of the nationwide warning strike in rail and air transport, travelers exit the subway at Alexanderplatz station, which is still running.
(Photo: dpa)
The German district association expects difficult wage negotiations because of the major strike. “Such demonstrations of power during ongoing negotiations clearly overshoot the target,” said the President, District Administrator Reinhard Sager (CDU), the editorial network Germany (RND). The German Association of Towns and Municipalities warned of a financial overload on the municipalities and predicted higher burdens for the citizens.
Association general manager Gerd Landsberg told the “Bild” (Monday) that many municipalities would have to raise garbage fees or property taxes. In addition, many municipalities could invest less money in the renovation of school buildings in the future.
Deutsche Bahn reaction: Millions of passengers affected by the warning strike
Deutsche Bahn has again criticized the large-scale warning strike. “Millions of passengers who depend on buses and trains are suffering from this exaggerated, exaggerated strike,” said a railway spokesman on Monday morning in Berlin.
Such demonstrations of power during ongoing negotiations clearly overshoot the mark. Reinhard Sager, President of the German District Association
“Not everyone can work from their home office.” Thousands of companies in the economy that received or sent their goods by rail would also have disadvantages: “The winners of the day are the mineral oil companies.”
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First publication: 03/27/2023, 01:39 a.m. (last updated: 03/27/2023, 09:10 a.m.).