Status: 04/21/2023 00:01
Travelers have to be prepared for massive disruptions again today. The railway and transport union (EVG) has announced a nationwide strike lasting several hours. Hamburg Airport is also on strike again.
The railway employees are called upon to stop work between 3 a.m. and 11 a.m., as the EVG announced. The railway is therefore completely stopping long-distance traffic on the day of the strike by 1 p.m., as the company announced in advance. After that, rail traffic is to be gradually resumed. The consequences of the strike could still have an effect until the early evening, it said. The DB regional traffic will probably be largely canceled until the morning. The workers at the railway company Transdev are also called on to go on warning strikes, as the union announced. Among other things, the Northwest Railway belongs to the Transdev Group.
Injunctions from transdev companies fail in court
Yesterday, Transdev failed in court with an attempt to prevent the upcoming warning strike in rail transport by means of an injunction. The injunction proceedings initiated by two companies in the group of companies had been rejected, the labor court in Frankfurt am Main announced in the evening of the German Press Agency. Transdev criticized the warning strike as disproportionate.
The railway companies Erixx Holstein, Nordbahn and AKN also expect problems from the strike. The employees there don’t go on strike themselves, but the companies are dependent on the DB employees, for example in the signal boxes. For this reason, all three railway companies assumed in advance that there could be cancellations and delays up to the complete failure of connections.
Further information
Hamburg S-Bahn: “Massive restrictions”
The Hamburg S-Bahn also expects “massive restrictions”. The subways and buses of the Hochbahn, on the other hand, will run as usual, said a spokeswoman for the transport company. The trade fair in Hanover is coming to an end tonight. The rail strike could also affect the travel plans of exhibitors and visitors there.
To justify the warning strike, the EVG criticized employers’ “refusal attitude” in collective bargaining and a lack of appreciation. “We are sending a clear signal that we don’t want to hit the passengers, but the companies, by calling for a temporary warning strike in the early hours this time,” said EVG board member Cosima Ingenschay.
MV: No ODEG trains in the morning
Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH (ODEG), which operates in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, announced a complete cancellation of trains on all 15 lines. “Even if the ODEG is not directly on strike, our rail traffic comes to a complete standstill. The background is that the Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn uses the infrastructure of DB Netz AG, which is then not served because, for example, the DB dispatchers are also on strike,” shared the company with. The ODEG warned that there could be restrictions in the course of operations that could last until the end of the day.
Bahn: EVG only relies on riots – strike hotline should inform
Deutsche Bahn condemned the warning strike as “completely useless and unnecessary”. Friday is the busiest day of the week, and the warning strike is hitting many commuters “particularly hard,” explained DB HR Director Martin Seiler. The EVG have “completely lost measure and middle” and rely “only on riots”.
The railway expects significant restrictions. “Everyone who can reschedule should do so,” said Sailer. Deutsche Bahn will “provide as much goodwill as possible” for travelers.
A free one Strike hotline on (0 8000) 99 66 33 is set up.
Further information
Railway union demands at least 650 euros more wages
The EVG demands at least 650 euros more wages per month for a period of one year or twelve percent more for the upper income earners. The union is currently negotiating in the second round with around 50 railway companies.
Nationwide warning strike already at the end of March
The EVG had already organized a first warning strike at the end of March together with the trade union ver.di. At that time, not only regional and long-distance rail transport but also air and water transport came to a standstill.
The railway’s offer is insufficient – EVG wants to increase the pressure
In the meantime, there is an arbitration award in the public service, which Deutsche Bahn also wants to use as a guide. Wage increases totaling more than ten percent were suggested. The arbitrators proposed a tax-free inflation adjustment payment of 3,000 euros to be paid in several installments until February 2024, with an initial payment in June 2023.
The EVG had rejected this last weekend as insufficient. In the short term, more pressure must now be exerted on employers “who still think they can ignore the demands of the employees”.
There is also a strike at Hamburg Airport
At the airports of Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn, employees in the aviation security area, in passenger control, personnel and goods control and in the service areas have been called on to go on warning strikes for two days in a row.
All departures for yesterday and today were canceled in Hamburg. Today, 156 departures and some of the 157 arrivals with a total of around 39,000 passengers will have to be cancelled. The The last strike by the control staff about a month ago had lasted 24 hours. According to the information, operations are continuing at Hanover Airport and Münster/Osnabrück Airport (FMO).
According to its own statements, the EVG did not coordinate with ver.di before the renewed warning strike. “We didn’t do that, there’s no voting this time,” said EVG collective bargaining board member Kristian Loroch. It was a coincidence that there was another strike in air and rail traffic at the same time on Friday.
Further information
