As of: February 22, 2024, 3:39 p.m
Comments
Press
Split
On February 2nd, Verdi went on strike on local public transport in almost all federal states in a nationwide coordinated action.
© Robert Michael/dpa
It has been known for a long time that warning strikes in traffic always affect many people.
However, it is unusual for the unions to use this potential as intensively as they do now.
Berlin - A nationwide wave of warning strikes on buses and trains in local transport will again affect thousands of passengers next week.
As the union in Berlin announced, the labor disputes are planned regionally on different days from Monday to Saturday, with the main strike day on Friday, March 1st.
Bavaria is the only federal state not affected.
Parallel to the warning strikes, Fridays For Future is organizing numerous demonstrations against the climate crisis on March 1st.
The warning strikes are likely to lead to thousands of bus, subway and tram cancellations.
Most S-Bahn trains in Germany are not affected.
They are usually operated by Deutsche Bahn, which is currently negotiating new collective agreements with the GDL train drivers' union, not with Verdi.
Verdi: Finally bring movement into negotiations
“In order to finally bring movement into the negotiations, pressure must now be put on the employers again,” said Verdi Vice President Christine Behle.
“That is why we are calling on employees to take concerted strikes.”
The action is the second nationwide coordinated industrial action in local public transport this year.
Verdi had already brought local transport to a standstill in many places on February 2nd.
At that time, according to the union, more than 80 cities and around 40 districts were affected.
In the past few weeks there have also been several warning strikes in individual federal states.
The exact effects will only become apparent in the coming days.
It is likely that the consequences of the warning strike will vary greatly depending on the region.
In Berlin, for example, subways, buses and trams are not allowed to run during the warning strike.
According to Verdi, around 90,000 employees have been called on a warning strike.
During the warning strike on February 2nd, North Rhine-Westphalia was particularly badly affected; a third of these 90,000 employees work there.
Fight for better working conditions
Collective bargaining is currently taking place in parallel in all federal states except Bavaria.
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.
Turnaround times, i.e. the scheduled time between arriving at a final stop and continuing in the opposite direction, also play a role.
Above all, Verdi wants to reduce the burden on employees and make public transport jobs more attractive.
All transport companies are suffering from a persistent shortage of staff.
Bus drivers in particular are difficult to find.
“Something must be done urgently so that the employees are relieved,” demanded Verdi representative Behle.
“However, employers are still not prepared to meet the demands and accommodate the employees.
This means a strike is unavoidable.”
My news
1 hour ago
New strike in public transport: Verdi announces industrial action on buses and trains
German family business files for bankruptcy - 150 employees affected read
Traffic light is planning a tax revolution: two tax classes are to be abolished
This is how much less pension statutory insured pensioners will receive from March reading
Largest German heating manufacturer is abolishing gas heating systems: Will Habeck's law be a success? read
Pension increase in summer 2024: Heil gives the first forecast for pensioners
Thousands of bus drivers are missing
All transport companies are suffering from a persistent shortage of staff.
Bus drivers in particular are difficult to find.
According to the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), around 80,000 employees across the industry will retire by 2030.
According to VDV, bus and train companies have a particularly high proportion of baby boomers - i.e. employees from the baby boomers of the post-war period - because "the industry has hardly been able to employ young people for years due to political austerity measures".
The association estimates that around 110,000 new employees will have to be hired by 2030 for the transport transition to be successful.
Higher wages and salaries are also being negotiated in Brandenburg, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.
In Bandenburg, for example, Verdi is demanding 20 percent - but at least 650 euros - more per month 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.
Only in Bavaria are there currently no negotiations.
More and more strikes and warning strikes
The renewed warning strikes are part of a growing list of labor disputes in transport in recent months.
In addition to the public transport warning strikes, there were labor disputes lasting several days on the railways and, most recently, several work stoppages in air traffic.
Warning strikes in traffic usually affect many people in the middle of their everyday lives or before long-awaited trips - the annoyance in the event of failures quickly becomes great.
This is not a new finding, but unions are now increasingly using this potential.
The employees are obviously on their side: after high inflation and in view of the significantly higher cost of living, they want compensation.
The unions recently reported more entries.
The March 1 warning strikes will coincide with numerous climate demonstrations organized by Fridays For Future (FFF).
Verdi and FFF have been working together for some time, including in the “We ride together” traffic campaign.
During the warning strike at the beginning of February, young activists also mingled with the employees on picket lines.
However, getting to the climate demonstrations is likely to become significantly more difficult in many places due to the warning strike.
dpa