BERLIN, March 28: Nationwide strikes in Germany brought train, bus and plane traffic to a virtual standstill on Monday, affecting millions of commuters. Freight traffic was also severely disrupted.
All major airports in Europe’s largest economy were affected by the strikes, except for Berlin. According to the German Airport Association (ADV), some 380,000 private and business travelers were affected by canceled or severely delayed flights.
Meanwhile, long-distance rail traffic was shut down completely, and only a few regional trains operated. The country’s waterways and ports, as well as the road system, were also affected.
With record inflation driving down real wages, public transport employees in seven German states went on strike.
“This day of strike in the transport sector is aimed at making it unequivocally clear to employers that employees are clearly behind our demands,” Verdi union boss Frank Werneke told the German Press Agency on Monday ( dpa). Verdi had called the strike together with the Union of Railways and Transport (EVG).
Public sector workers are demanding a 10.5 percent wage increase, with a minimum increase of 500 euros (US$540) a month. Parallel to the strikes on Monday, a third and supposedly last round of negotiations is taking place.
“I cannot understand why the strikes are now taking place so widely and with such intensity; the unions are going too far,” Karin Welge, president of the Association of Municipal Employers’ Associations (VKA), said last week.
The current offer from public employers includes a five percent salary increase in two tranches, as well as a single tax-free payment of 2,500 euros. Now labor unions “have their turn to move in the direction of a compromise,” Welge said.
For weeks now, there have been repeated public sector strikes in parts of Germany. With thousands of flights cancelled, airports have been hit particularly hard, even though they represent only a small proportion of the workforce. (1 euro = 1.08 US dollar)
