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On Wednesday, the Ver.di union called on the employees of Hamburger Hochbahn to go on strike
Photo: Maurizio Gambarini/ picture alliance/ dpa
The way to work will be more difficult than usual for many commuters in Hamburg on Wednesday: the Ver.di trade union is calling on all employees of the Hamburger Hochbahn to go on warning strike for 24 hours.
It is expected that all subways and buses will be at a standstill that day.
"We have to assume that the subways and buses of the Hochbahn will not run on Wednesday," said Hochbahn spokesman Christoph Kreienbaum on Tuesday.
The company will decide to what extent operating services are possible at all during the strike.
The reason for the strike is an unsuccessful collective bargaining round in which the union had demanded a significant increase in wages.
Hochbahn had offered salary increases of 4.5 percent as of January 1, 2023, as well as 130 euros more per month from January 1, 2024. In addition, an inflation compensation bonus totaling 3,000 euros per person was planned.
Ver.di refused and continues to demand a gross monthly salary increase of 600 euros for the approximately 600 employees, as well as an increase in training salaries by 258 euros a month.
"A sustainable turnaround in mobility also includes the sustainable wage development of the employees, who do everything they can every day to enable the turnaround in mobility and make life in this city more worth living," said Verdi negotiator Irene Hatzidimou.
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You have to be able to afford to live in this city in the future.«
The next round of negotiations is scheduled for Thursday.
When is the strike, which means of transport are affected
The strike is scheduled to begin early Wednesday morning at 3 a.m. and continue until Thursday at 3 a.m.
It is still unclear how many employees will follow the call for a strike.
According to the Hochbahn, however, it is unclear whether the operation of buses and subways can be started at all.
The transport companies expect a total failure and advise switching to other means of transport.
Anyone who can should work from home.
The S-Bahn in the Hanseatic city, on the other hand, should run as usual.
Like the subways and buses, they belong to the joint local transport network HVV, but are operated by a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn.
The regional trains and the bus lines of the VHH transport association are not affected by the strike.
The HVV provides information on which lines are running in its app and on the website.
Hochbahn also wants to provide up-to-date information via announcements, displays on the platform and via social media channels.
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