Accompanied by growing criticism, Deutsche Bahn train drivers have once again stopped work. The passenger transport strike is expected to last until 2 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Passengers must expect major restrictions. The railway has organized an emergency timetable, which, according to the company, secures around a fifth of long-distance train traffic.
Regional transport and the S-Bahn of Deutsche Bahn are also affected. The offer there can vary greatly depending on the region. Even after the strike ended on Wednesday morning, passengers must continue to expect train cancellations and delays. The strike in freight transport began on Monday evening.
The German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) is fighting for higher salaries and fewer working hours on the railway. Strikes over Easter cannot be ruled out either. On Monday, the railway tried unsuccessfully to have the current strike stopped in court – and then announced that it would appeal to the Hessian State Labor Court. Negotiations on this will only take place this Tuesday around noon, long after the start of the strike. If the Hessian State Labor Court rules in favor of the railway, the GDL would have to interrupt its strike. However, this would not mean an immediate end to the restrictions for passengers. It will probably be some time before traffic runs smoothly again.
You can find timetable information about the train drivers’ strike on the railways here bahn.de or in the DB Navigator app.
There are also big problems in air traffic this Tuesday. The UFO union has called on the cabin crew at Frankfurt Airport to go on strike: all Lufthansa departures at Germany’s largest airport are to be on strike until 11 p.m. Before the strike began on Monday, Lufthansa assumed that 600 flights in Frankfurt would be canceled as a result, affecting 70,000 passengers.
UFO is calling on Lufthansa cabin crew at Munich Airport to go on strike on Wednesday from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. According to Lufthansa’s estimates, 400 flights with 50,000 passengers will not be able to take off there. The union is essentially demanding 15 percent more money for the approximately 18,000 cabin employees at Lufthansa and the almost 1,000 employees at Cityline with a contract term of 18 months. UFO also wants to achieve an inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros as well as higher allowances.
Information about the UFO strike at Lufthansa You will find here.
For Lufthansa, this is one of several current tariff disputes: Last week, the ground staff organized by Verdi paralyzed Lufthansa’s passenger traffic to a large extent. Verdi will be spoken to again this Wednesday (March 13th).
The union is also currently negotiating new collective agreements in local public transport in many federal states. There is a risk of new strikes here too: the union wants to let its members in Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia vote on indefinite strikes.