In all countries except Bavaria
Nationwide strike in local transport is underway
February 2, 2024, 3:53 a.m
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From now on, buses and trams and subways will be at a standstill in almost all of Germany for the next 24 hours. With the exception of Bavaria, all federal states are affected. In Berlin, the BVG is only on strike until the morning.
A nationwide strike in German local transport began early this morning. The Verdi union has called on around 90,000 employees from over 130 municipal companies in cities and districts, with the exception of Bavaria, to take industrial action. “As a rule, there is a strike from the start of operations to the end of operations – usually from 3 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Saturday morning,” said Andreas Schackert, federal specialist group leader for buses and trains at Verdi. However, there are exceptions. The BVG in Berlin will only go on strike until 10 a.m., and some transport companies like in Aachen or Mannheim won’t go on strike at all because there are collective agreements there. In some companies in Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate, the strike started in the evening.
Verdi had already largely paralyzed operations at eleven German airports on Thursday with a strike by security staff. The union has also called for industrial action among ground staff, who are responsible for baggage handling, at Hamburg Airport on Friday. It initially remained unclear whether this would lead to flight cancellations.
“Loads on public transport have increased”
With the nationwide strike on buses and trains, Verdi wants to increase the pressure on employers. Verdi argues that the burden on employees and the staff shortage in local public transport (ÖPNV) have continued to increase. “We have a dramatic shortage of workers in public transport and incredible pressure on the employees,” said Verdi deputy chairwoman Christine Behle recently. Solutions for relief must be found quickly.
At the beginning of December, Verdi initiated the collective bargaining round and presented demands in all 16 federal states. Each tariff area has its own requirements. Essentially, it’s all about issues such as fewer weekly working hours with full wage compensation, shorter shifts, reducing unpaid travel time, extending rest periods, more vacation or additional days off.