After several days of industrial action
Warning strike in local transport reaches peak
March 1, 2024, 6:49 a.m
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Local public transport workers have been on strike in large parts of Germany since Thursday – but the climax is expected to follow today. This is also due to the support from Fridays for Future. Buses and trains are only supposed to run according to plan in two federal states today.
The second round of warning strikes by the Verdi union in local public transport (ÖPNV) is reaching its climax. The union announced that there will be further extensive restrictions on bus, subway and tram traffic in dozens of cities and districts today. The industrial action began in many places on Thursday. Other unions had already called for work stoppages in public transport in some places at the beginning of the week, including in Berlin.
Verdi is expanding the strike again. While it is supposed to end at 2 p.m. in Berlin, in many other federal states it will last until Saturday night. The union is receiving support in its industrial action from the environmental movement Fridays for Future (FFF).
Both organizations have been cooperating in the “We ride together” alliance for several years. FFF has called for a nationwide climate strike and more than 100 rallies and demonstrations across the country this Friday. The central theme of the demonstrations will be the struggle of public transport employees for better working conditions, it was said. “While the government is lost in the dispute, Fridays for Future and Verdi stand united and fight together for climate protection, good jobs and long overdue investments in public transport,” said activist Luisa Neubauer.
No strike in Bavaria and Saarland
Due to the labor dispute, many passengers are once again having to adapt to far-reaching restrictions on local transport. In many places, public transport is once again coming to a complete standstill. Numerous cities and communities in Berlin, North Rhine-Westphalia, the southwest, Lower Saxony and Thuringia were already affected on Thursday.
In the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations in 14 federal states, the employee representatives are demanding, among other things, reduced working hours, more vacation and additional relief days for shift work for the approximately 90,000 employees of the more than 130 municipal public transport companies. Wages are also being negotiated in Brandenburg, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. There are no negotiations in Bavaria because the current collective agreement there is still running. There is now a degree in Saarland. There are no strikes there either.