Work stoppages: who the warning strikes could affect

After the Easter break, warning strikes in long-distance and regional transport are due again on Friday in the wage dispute in the railways. Air travelers also have to be prepared for disabilities – there from Thursday.

After the massive warning strike in public transport at the end of March, things have remained largely calm for rail passengers – now there are again restrictions on long-distance and regional transport. The railway and transport union (EVG) wants to paralyze rail traffic nationwide for the second time on Friday. All EVG members at Deutsche Bahn and around 50 other bus and train companies were called to industrial action, the union said.

With this, the EVG wants to increase the pressure again before the next wage round with Deutsche Bahn.

The EVG is currently leaving open a call for a strike to the Transdev workforce. Talks with the railway company are still ongoing, as both sides confirmed. According to Transdev, it operates the second-largest rail vehicle fleet in Germany.

Who is on strike, when and where?

The EVG union has called on its employees to stop working on Friday between 3 a.m. and 11 a.m. Long-distance, regional and S-Bahn trains across the country are affected.

The trade union ver.di, on the other hand, has announced warning strikes in the aviation security area, in passenger control, personnel and goods control and in service areas for Thursday and Friday at Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf and Hamburg airports as part of the collective bargaining dispute in the public sector. “In connection with the strike, longer waiting times and even flight cancellations or cancellations are to be expected,” the union warned.

What effects can be expected?

As was the case at the end of March, the impact on rail is likely to be significant. Deutsche Bahn wants to completely stop long-distance traffic in the morning. From 1 p.m. it should start up again gradually. “Nevertheless, nationwide effects of the strike on ICE and IC trains are to be expected on Friday until the early evening hours,” it said. “Everyone who can reschedule should do so,” said Group HR Director Martin Seiler.

In regional and S-Bahn traffic, on the other hand, after the end of the strike, “as many connections as possible should be offered again in a timely manner according to the regular timetable”. However, further restrictions are to be expected here in the course of the afternoon.

Passengers at Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf and Hamburg airports also have to be prepared for significant obstacles. “According to the current status, around 700 departures will not take place at Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Cologne/Bonn airports,” said the airport association ADV. Around 100,000 passengers are affected. Hamburg Airport announced that all departures would be canceled due to the warning strike on Thursday and Friday.

Trains, ships, airplanes – will everything stand still again?

There will not be such an extensive warning strike as at the end of March this time. At that time, EVG, together with ver.di, largely brought public transport in Germany to a standstill with a 24-hour warning strike. In addition to rail, almost all German airports except Berlin were affected, as were ship and port traffic.

The warning strike on the railways is now limited to a few hours in the morning and in the morning. “For us it’s not about punishing passengers,” said EVG collective bargaining officer Cosima Ingenschay. “On the contrary: We are only interested in increasing the pressure on the employer.”

With Düsseldorf, one of the largest German airports will be affected, but other important hubs such as Frankfurt and Munich will remain in operation. The EVG emphasized that the parallel ver.di warning strikes on Friday were just a coincidence. There was no coordination between the unions this time.

Will there be more warning strikes?

That is quite probable. The EVG is currently in the second round of negotiations with around 50 railway companies. The next meeting with Deutsche Bahn is scheduled for next Tuesday. If there is no agreement, both sides will probably not meet again until the end of May. That’s how long it takes for the EVG to negotiate with the other companies. The union has recently made it clear that warning strikes are conceivable at any time during negotiation rounds.

Ver.di, in turn, will be negotiating with the federal government and local authorities next Saturday about a proposal for arbitration in the public sector. If no agreement can be reached either, a ballot and indefinite strikes are conceivable.

What does the EVG demand?

The EVG demands at least 650 euros more per month for a term of one year or twelve percent more for the upper income groups. The union is currently negotiating in the second round with around 50 companies. Today the union meets with the company Transdev.

The next round with Deutsche Bahn is scheduled for the coming week. At the group, the collective bargaining affects a good 180,000 employees.

What does the train offer?

Deutsche Bahn was recently open to accepting the arbitration proposal in the negotiations for the public sector as a basis for its own talks. This initially provides for tax and duty-free special payments of 3000 euros in several stages. From March 2024 there will then be a base amount of 200 euros and then a wage increase of 5.5 percent. If no increase of 340 euros is achieved, the relevant increase amount should be set to this sum. The EVG rated the advance as a provocation.