Berlin After the big warning strike, traffic in Germany started again on Tuesday morning. Airports started operations, trains, buses and subways started rolling again. The biggest warning strike in Germany for decades still had an effect on the following day. Some flights were cancelled, and there were some train cancellations in long-distance rail travel.
According to Deutsche Bahn, train traffic resumed on Tuesday according to plan. “In long-distance traffic, only a few trips are canceled in the morning hours,” said a group spokesman for the German Press Agency. The regional and S-Bahn traffic runs without strike-related failures.
In rail freight transport, it was said that the management of transports before the strike ensured a “stable operational starting position”. Since Monday evening, the first freight trains from the backlog in the marshalling yards have started again.
The airports, including Germany’s largest airport in Frankfurt, also resumed operations on Tuesday. In the morning, around 40 flight cancellations were known for Tuesday, partly due to the consequences of the strike, the spokeswoman said. There were also some strike effects at Cologne/Bonn Airport. According to the departure schedule, early flights were postponed to later in the morning and some were also cancelled.
The consequences of the strike were also resolved in shipping. The pilot shifters in the port of Hamburg wanted to resume their work from six o’clock so that pilots could board the ships again. The Kiel Canal should also be reopened.
The great chaos caused by the strike will at least not continue this Tuesday. However, Verdi and the civil service association threatened further industrial action if the resumed collective bargaining for the public sector did not lead to a result by Wednesday. The railway and transport union (EVG) was also ready to fight.
Throughout Germany, long-distance and regional rail services came to a standstill.
(Photo: dpa)
Verdi and EVG had called on employees from the transport sector to a 24-hour industrial dispute in several wage rounds currently being conducted, including in the public sector and at Deutsche Bahn. As a result, air traffic in Germany largely came to a standstill. The airports in Munich, Frankfurt and Hamburg had already canceled all flights as a precaution.
All major airports, with the exception of the one in Berlin, were affected by the walkout. However, many domestic German connections were also lost in the capital.
The airport association ADV assumed that around 380,000 business and private travelers would not be able to board their flights due to the strike.
Airport Association: “French conditions in Germany”
General manager Ralph Beisel explained that the action had nothing to do with warning strikes. Rather, it is an attempt to “allow French conditions to move into Germany by means of a general strike”. At the largest airport in Frankfurt alone, 1170 take-offs and landings with a total of around 160,000 passengers would have been planned on Monday. There is currently a separate collective bargaining round for security staff at airports.
Rail transport was also massively affected. Deutsche Bahn canceled all long-distance trains, and there were total failures in many places in regional and S-Bahn services. According to the EVG, more than 30,000 employees took part in the walkout. In several federal states there were also disabilities in local transport.
Deutsche Bahn criticized the strike as “disproportionate”.
(Photo: dpa)
Chaos was also expected on the autobahns after Verdi called on workers at Autobahn GmbH, who are responsible for safety in the tunnels, to go on strike. The Elbe Tunnel was prevented from being closed because the Hamburg Higher Labor Court had obliged Verdi to conclude an emergency service agreement that enabled normal operation of the tunnel.
According to the ADAC, there was an increase in traffic in the morning hours on Monday, but there were only a few major traffic jams. “Anyone who can has stayed in the home office,” said a spokeswoman for the automobile club.
>> Read here: Can employees stay at home?
In the collective bargaining for the 2.5 million federal and local employees, employers and unions came together on Monday for the third round of talks, which is scheduled to last until Wednesday. Verdi and the civil servants’ association are demanding 10.5 percent more money, but at least 500 euros a month, with a term of the collective agreement of twelve months.
After collective bargaining: arbitration would be the next step
The Association of Municipal Employers’ Associations (VKA) and Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) had offered employees five percent more money in two stages and an inflation compensation premium of 2,500 euros, but with a very long term of 27 months. At the start of the third round, VKA negotiator Karin Welge called on the unions to seriously negotiate the present offer.
If the negotiations are declared to have failed this week, either side can initiate arbitration proceedings to find a solution with the help of neutral mediators. Strikes are not permitted during arbitration.
>> Read here: Commentary: The balance of power in the labor market has turned – in favor of the employees
If the conciliation procedure is not successful either, “then it will be very dark again in Germany,” warned the head of the civil service association, Ulrich Silberbach. “Then we will have to start a nationwide, unlimited industrial action.” This requires a ballot among the union members.
Werneke is skeptical about the success of a possible arbitration procedure.
(Photo: dpa)
Verdi boss Frank Werneke was skeptical about the prospects of arbitration: If there is sufficient will to find a solution, an agreement can also be reached within the regular negotiations, he said on Monday. “At the moment I can’t imagine what else should be said to each other in an arbitration.”
EVG rules out further strikes in Germany around Easter
One of the main points of contention is the minimum amount of 500 euros demanded by the unions. Here VKA President Welge indicated willingness to approach the unions. In the collective bargaining at Deutsche Bahn, the EVG is demanding twelve percent more money, but at least 650 euros a month.
Just like the public employers, the railways had offered a two-stage tariff increase by a total of five percent and an inflation compensation premium of 2,500 euros for a period of 27 months. The union refuses to negotiate further on this basis and expects an improved offer by the next round of talks at the end of April.
The group asked the EVG to return to the negotiating table. The EVG is still ready to fight, but rules out further strikes before or during the Easter days. One does not want to strike the travelers, but the employers, said collective bargaining officer Kristian Loroch.
With agency material
More: What do you think of the major strike, did you think it was justified and the demands? Write us your opinion in five sentences [email protected]. We will publish selected articles with attribution on Thursday in print and online.
First publication: 03/27/2023, 21:30, (last updated: 03/28/2023, 08:43).