Trains that come too late or not at all: travelers and commuters nationwide have to be prepared for this on Friday. The railway and transport union (EVG) wants to call on employees at Deutsche Bahn and private railway operators to go on warning strikes. The Bayerischer Rundfunk learned this from circles during the collective bargaining.
The strikes should last from the start of operations until 11 a.m. and affect both local and long-distance traffic. The S-Bahn traffic in Munich and Nuremberg is also on strike. Representatives of the railways and the EVG also confirmed the strike to the Reuters news agency.
Strike effects probably until the afternoon
The effects of the strike are likely to be felt into the afternoon. The extent to which Deutsche Bahn can take countermeasures remains to be seen. During the union’s most recent all-day strike, it partially stopped traffic of its own accord. If the union succeeds in striking the important signal boxes, then nothing will roll on the rails.
The plans are to be officially announced on Wednesday, the EVG scheduled a press conference for 8.30 a.m. In the short term, more pressure must be exerted on those employers “who still think they can ignore the demands of the employees,” the invitation said. The railway also wants to speak to the press on this day.
Deutsche Bahn open to arbitration proposal
The EVG demands twelve percent more wages for a term of one year, but at least 650 euros more per month. The state-owned company had offered five percent more and one-off payments of up to 2,500 euros. The union is currently negotiating in the second round with around 50 railway companies. At Deutsche Bahn, the collective bargaining affects 230,000 employees.
Deutsche Bahn was recently open to accepting the arbitration proposal in the negotiations for the public sector as a basis for its own talks. This initially provides for tax and duty-free special payments of 3,000 euros in several stages. From March 2024 there will then be a base amount of 200 euros and then a wage increase of 5.5 percent. If no increase of 340 euros is achieved, the relevant increase amount should be set to this sum. At the weekend, however, the EVG strictly rejected this proposal as insufficient.
Verdi strikes at several airports
At the end of March, the union, together with the Verdi services union, called for a major strike nationwide, which affected airports and ports in addition to buses and trains. After the strike, the union announced that it would not start any further industrial action around Easter. Since then, further talks have taken place with some smaller companies, but not with the railways. According to the EVG, the next appointment is next Tuesday.
Air travelers are also threatened with adversity this week: the Verdi union is largely paralyzing the airports of Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Cologne/Bonn with strikes by aviation security staff on Thursday and Friday. Verdi announced on Tuesday that longer waiting times and even flight cancellations or cancellations are to be expected. The industrial action applies to employees in the aviation security sector who work in passenger control, personnel and goods control and in service areas. The strike therefore begins on the night from Wednesday to Thursday and ends on the night from Friday to Saturday.