A massive strike by train drivers from Deutsche Bahn, the German public rail operator, severely disrupted all traffic in Germany on Wednesday, blocking many travelers, as the summer holidays are in full swing.
The social movement, which began on Tuesday on the transport of goods, widened to the entire national network on Wednesday, and is expected to last until 2:00 a.m. on Friday.
The strike is massively followed by the drivers of the GDL union, who voted 95% of the call for mobilization.
On Wednesday, only "
25% of long-distance trains
" circulated in the country, according to Deutsche Bahn.
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"
This strike is totally unnecessary,
" says Peter Gramlich, 78, who is waiting with his wife in Berlin central station to be able to take a train to Bochum (west).
At the origin of the mobilization: the failure of wage negotiations on the next collective agreement between management and the union, in particular with regard to wage increases.
Drivers also denounce a reduction of 50 euros per month in their supplementary retirement pensions.
A strike that goes badly with users
In Berlin, metro and tram traffic was also largely disrupted by the strike.
“
I'm going to be late for work.
Tomorrow, I'm going to have to take my bike,
”says Lenard Warning, 19, in apprenticeship as a video editor.
The mobilization goes badly with the users, while the summer holidays are in full swing, after months of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“
I think this is the wrong time (...).
People want to travel,
”annoys Matthias Hattendorf, 66, who is waiting at Berlin station for a train to return home to Hamburg.
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The social movement is also disrupting freight trains, an important activity of Deutsche Bahn, through its subsidiary DB Cargo. This will be added to the already existing delivery problems, caused by the health crisis, which have plagued German industry for several weeks, a pillar of the country's economic model. According to the economic institute IW, the movement could cause the German economy to lose "
up to 100 million euros per day
".