STORY: On the sidelines of the transport ministers’ conference in Aachen, there was a small foretaste on Thursday with a warning strike by public sector employees, including employees of bus companies. On Monday, millions of commuters and travelers nationwide will have to reckon with a widespread collapse in public transport. Both the train and bus traffic as well as airports in Germany are to be largely paralyzed, as the service union Verdi and the railway and transport union (EVG) announced on Thursday in Berlin. Verdi boss Frank Werneke accused the employers of a lack of willingness to negotiate and insufficient offers. “And in particular our demand for the payment of a minimum amount that takes into account the groups of employees who have low and middle incomes in the public sector, who have been hit particularly hard by inflation, reject this social component, such a socially fair degree the employers so far.” Martin Burkert, EVG Chairman: “I can also make it clear here: You know that we as EVG are fighting for a traffic turnaround in Germany. And that is necessary for climate protection. And that can only be achieved with good working conditions and, above all, fair pay. ” The 24-hour warning strike is scheduled to begin at midnight on Monday. Burkert recalled a labor dispute in 2018, where it took 45 minutes for rail traffic to come to a standstill. The railways and the aviation industry criticized the walkout as excessive. Martin Seiler, Chief Human Resources Officer at Deutsche Bahn: “What is happening now is totally incomprehensible, because the EVG is saying at the same time that it is not prepared to negotiate for the next four weeks. So to say: I’m going to do a complete strike in the Federal Republic on Monday and I’ll only be ready to speak again in four weeks, the union can’t be serious. We call on the EVG to return to the negotiating table immediately and seek solutions with us. Solutions are only possible there.” inland shipping, locks and the motorway company, as well as local public transport companies in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony.