Strike paralyzes public transport in Germany

Germany, with the exception of Bavaria, woke up this Friday without public transport due to a strike called by the service trade union ver.di, after several wage negotiations in different federal states failed to produce results.

In principle, the stops this Friday will last from the beginning to the end of the service, that is, from 3:00 am (2:00 am in Portugal) until the same time on Saturday.

However, in the case of Berlin, the strike will only last a few hours, until 10:00 (9:00 in Portugal), and some transport companies in other cities are not on strike because they have internal wage agreements.

However, in Bavaria, local public transport is operating as usual, as the state still has a collective agreement in force.

The strike called by ver.di aims to “put more pressure on employers” after collective bargaining for some 90,000 public transport workers in more than 130 municipal companies failed to produce results, explained union vice-president Christine Bele in his statement. .

“We have a catastrophic labor shortage in public transport and incredible pressure on workers. Every day in all tariff zones buses and trains are canceled because there are not enough staff. Something must be done urgently to ease the pressure on workers,” he said . .

Ver.di began a round of collective bargaining in early December and presented demands in each state.

Different collective agreements differ from each other in many respects, but among the main demands shared by all are a reduction in the number of working hours per week, an increase in the number of holidays, additional days off for shift and night workers, limiting shift splitting and reducing unpaid time spent behind the wheel. .