Around 60,000 employees are on strike in seven federal states for more wages. The focus is on local public transport, so buses and trains remain in the depots in many cities. The Verdi union is seeing greater participation than in previous years – and is announcing the expansion of warning strikes.
In the wage dispute in the public sector, warning strikes have largely paralyzed local public transport in several federal states. According to Verdi, around 60,000 employees responded to the Verdi union’s call for a strike and went down on work to put pressure on municipal employers. The focus was on local public transport.
In the larger cities of Baden-Württemberg, almost all trains and buses remained in the depots. The Verdi union assumed at least 5,000 employees in the southwest. “We have a larger participation than in previous years,” said Jan Bleckert from the Verdi state district of Baden-Württemberg. In the state capital of Stuttgart, on the other hand, S-Bahn trains ran despite the failures. They are served by Deutsche Bahn.
Even in Saxony’s largest cities, traffic largely came to a standstill. Only a few buses operated by subcontractors are on the road. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the one-day warning strike started when the transport companies started operating at around 2.30 a.m., according to a Verdi spokesman. The focus is therefore on the Ruhr area and the Rhineland. Residents of the larger cities in particular had to be prepared for considerable restrictions, for example in Cologne, Dortmund and Düsseldorf. S-Bahn and regional trains were not affected by the warning strikes.
In several Bavarian cities, too, many buses, trams and subways stood still because of the warning strikes. The Munich transport company has reported massive restrictions on buses for the second day in a row. The subway and tram were out of service. The Augsburg Transport and Tariff Association reported that local transport in the city had come to an almost complete standstill. Other focal points of the warning strikes were Hesse, Lower Saxony, Bremen and Rhineland-Palatinate.
The action took place together with the activists from Fridays for Future, who demonstrated in several cities for more climate protection. The general manager of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA), Steffen Kampeter, criticized the joint action as “a dangerous crossing of borders”. In his view, strikes are allowed to reach collective agreements and must not mix with general political goals, as he told the German Press Agency. The CSU labor market expert Stephan Stracke told the dpa: “If Verdi now takes to the streets together with Fridays for Future, that is a dangerous mixing of the labor dispute with general political demands.”
Verdi boss Frank Werneke dismissed the criticism as “absurd”. “The ecological change in society can only be thought of together with social change,” said Werneke. When it comes to mobility and local public transport, both issues are closely linked. “Challenging and scandalizing the legality of our strikes is far-fetched and pure propaganda.” Verdi Vice Christine Behle said the activists’ goals were compatible with those of the unions.
The negotiations for the approximately 2.5 million federal and local employees had been tough since they started in January. Verdi and the civil servants’ association dbb are demanding 10.5 percent more income, but at least 500 euros more per month. There had been no rapprochement in the second round of negotiations last week. Another round of negotiations is planned for the end of March.
Next Wednesday, Verdi wants to extend the warning strikes nationwide to daycare centers and social facilities. As the union announced, it is a reaction “to the completely inadequate offer from the employers from the second round of negotiations for public sector employees”. There could be restrictions on operations and closures.
