As of: February 2, 2024, 7:08 a.m
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A sign with the inscription “Warning Strike” hangs on a bus in a BVG depot on Müllerstrasse.
© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
Buses, subways and trams have been at a standstill since early Friday morning: the Verdi union is on strike on local public transport in Berlin and Brandenburg.
While everything in Berlin should be running again from this morning, the strike in the neighboring country is taking longer.
Berlin - Buses, subways and trams in Berlin and Brandenburg have been at a standstill since early Friday morning.
With a warning strike in local public transport, the Verdi union also wants to increase pressure on employers in these two federal states.
“Everything is in place, the picket lines have been set up,” said a Verdi spokesman in Berlin that morning.
In the capital, the strike will only last until 10 a.m. on Friday.
“The employees are called upon to return to work on time,” said the spokesman.
Here the warning strike began at 3 a.m.
The BVG had announced that even after the warning strike in Berlin ended, local transport would continue to run irregularly for a few hours.
Impacts are expected to last until midday, it said.
According to the Berlin public transport company, all trams and subways as well as most bus routes will be canceled during the industrial dispute.
The buses that are running include lines M36 and 106. The few ferry lines should also be in use as usual.
S-Bahn and regional train services are not affected by the warning strike.
According to a dpa reporter, there was initially little going on on the S-Bahn tracks at Zoo station early on Friday morning around 6 a.m.
Entrances to subway stations were blocked with bars.
The warning strike made little difference to a student on her way to work: “The good thing is: there is always a way, we are in Berlin.”
In Brandenburg, Verdi wants to hold a warning strike all day long.
Around 14 transport companies in the state are affected.
The industrial dispute began there at the start of shifts in the respective companies.
A Verdi spokesman spoke in the morning of almost 100 percent employee participation.
“Everything is closed,” he said.
Potsdam GmbH had announced in the previous days that all tram, ferry and most bus journeys would be canceled between Friday at 3 a.m. and Saturday at 4 a.m.
The transport companies in Ostprignitz-Ruppin, Prignitz, Uckermark and Oberspreewald-Lausitz are not affected by the industrial dispute - traffic moves here.
S-Bahn, regional and long-distance transport in Brandenburg are also exempt from the strike.
Deutsche Bahn, Odeg and NEB trains will not be on strike.
In total, Verdi has called for warning strikes in local public transport in more than 80 German cities and around 40 districts.
The union is negotiating new collective agreements in parallel in 15 federal states.
These are only still running in Bavaria.
The requirements are different.
In Berlin, for example, all that is being negotiated is the collective agreement that regulates the working conditions for employees.
Verdi wants to implement longer turnaround times on all lines, more vacation days and vacation pay.
In Brandenburg, however, higher fees are also being negotiated.
The union is demanding 20 percent, but at least 650 euros more per month for local transport workers.
The term of the collective agreement should be twelve months.
dpa