As of: February 2, 2024, 11:09 a.m
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Most of the buses are parked at the Saarbahn GmbH depot.
© Laszlo Pinter/dpa
Warning strikes in public transport: Bus, subway and tram traffic has stopped working in many German cities since early morning.
In Hamburg the airport is hit again.
Berlin - With warning strikes, the Verdi union has been paralyzing local public transport in many cities and regions since early this morning.
In more than 80 cities in 15 federal states, bus, subway and tram traffic is no longer working.
Commuters and students have to find an alternative to get to school and work.
Only Bavaria is not affected because the collective agreements there are still running.
The strike is planned for the whole day in most municipalities.
In Berlin it should end at 10 a.m.
North Rhine-Westphalia is particularly affected
Of the around 90,000 employees nationwide who have been called on a warning strike, around a third work in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The warning strike there began as planned with the start of the shift usually between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., Peter Büddicker from the Verdi regional district of North Rhine-Westphalia told dpa in the morning.
The strike participation is high.
There were similar reports in other federal states, such as Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, Saxony and Saarland.
The background is parallel collective bargaining in public transport in almost all federal states.
In most rounds, the main focus is on the working conditions for employees.
Verdi is demanding, among other things, shorter working hours without financial losses, longer rest periods between individual shifts, more vacation days or more vacation pay.
This is intended to relieve the burden on employees and make the job more attractive.
Verdi is demanding, among other things, shorter working hours without financial losses.
© Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/dpa
Higher wages and salaries are also being negotiated in Brandenburg, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.
In Brandenburg, for example, Verdi is demanding 20 percent - but at least 650 euros - more for employees.
According to Verdi, the term of the collective agreement should be one year.
A new collective agreement for the transport companies is being negotiated in Hamburg.
Greens show solidarity with strikers
The warning strikes are supported by the climate movement Fridays for Future (FFF).
The organization is calling for better working conditions in the industry as a prerequisite for making public transport more attractive as an alternative to cars.
“Of course we as a climate movement can fight to ensure that climate targets in transport can be met and that emissions finally fall,” said Fridays for Future activist Luisa Neubauer in Berlin while visiting a warning picket of the Verdi union.
“But in the end it won’t work if we ignore the conditions under which people work.”
Verdi has called for another warning strike at Hamburg Airport.
© Rabea Gruber/dpa
The Greens also expressed their solidarity with the strikers.
These are “the everyday climate heroes,” said Green Party parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge of the German Press Agency in Berlin.
“With their work every day, they ensure that millions of people in Germany travel in a climate-friendly way and at affordable prices.
That’s why commitment to good working conditions is important.”
The Verdi union is not only on strike today on public transport.
The union has also called for a strike at Hamburg Airport.
The first arrivals and departures there in the morning were canceled as planned.
Already on Thursday there had been numerous flight cancellations at a total of eleven German airports due to warning strikes.
dpa