German union announces nationwide public transport strike for Friday

BERLIN

German public transport workers will stage a nationwide strike on Friday, the Verdi union has announced.


Christine Behle, the deputy chairwoman of the union, said the strike will take place in almost all the federal states, with the only exception of Bavaria.


“As the collective bargaining negotiations have taken place in all regions, but not produced any results, now is the time to put more pressure on employers,” she said in a statement.


Around 90,000 public transport workers in more than 100 German cities are expected to walk off the job on Friday, meaning nearly all local trams and buses in these regions will be out of service.


During the first round of negotiations last week, the union and the transport companies in the regions could not reach an agreement on wages and working conditions.


In the federal states of Brandenburg, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, the union is negotiating with the transport companies for higher wages, demanding a pay rise due to the rising cost of living.


In several other federal states, the negotiations are mainly on improvements in working conditions, holiday pay, and longer vacation periods for the employees.