Germany faces new railways and airports strikes
Photo: Trains during a strike in Germany (gettyimages.com)
A wave of transport strikes continues in Germany. On March 7 and 8, train drivers of Deutsche Bahn and ground workers of Lufthansa will go on strike. Passengers are advised to postpone their planned trips to other days, according to DW.
Germany's rail transport drivers' union GDL has announced a 35-hour nationwide strike following a breakdown in negotiations. One of the key requirements is to reduce the number of working hours from 38 to 35 per week while maintaining wages.
The trade union said that they will no longer give 48-hour notice of the start of a strike.
"We are starting a so-called strike wave. After that, the railway will cease to be a reliable means of transportation," said GDL chairman Claus Weselsky.
The Deutsche Bahn website warns of a strike for passenger trains from 02:00 am on Thursday until 1:00 pm on Friday (March 8). During the strike, DB offers basic long-distance, regional, and S-Bahn services.
Also, the largest German trade union Ver.di called the ground staff of the Lufthansa airline company for a new strike on March 7 and 8.
The statement said staff were to stop work from 4:00 am on March 7 until 7:10 am on March 9 (Saturday). At the same time, delays and cancellations of flights are possible, because previous strikes disrupted flights. On February 20, during a similar strike, most Lufthansa passenger flights were canceled, which affected about 100,000 passengers.
Previously, there were reports of strikes affecting local transportation in nearly all German federal states.
Also, the German trade union of railway transport drivers GDL announced a one-week strike at the end of January. About 80% of long-distance trains and a large part of regional trains were canceled.
