Germany's largest train operator has announced that it has cancelled all long-distance trains scheduled to run on Monday, March 27. Airports and public transport will also be heavily disrupted amid the nationwide transport strike.
Deutsche Bahn cancels Monday trains
Rail operator Deutsche Bahn has said that all long-distance trains in Germany will be cancelled on Monday due to nationwide strikes.
Rail and Transport Union (EVG) and Germany's biggest trade union ver.di have said that almost all rail operations in Germany will be brought to a standstill at the beginning of next week.
In an online statement, Deutsche Bahn said that the Monday strikes "will affect all German rail operations, as employees from all areas of Deutsche Bahn and other rail companies have been called on to walk out. The long-distance traffic of Deutsche Bahn is therefore completely discontinued."
Services are also expected to be disrupted on Sunday and Tuesday. Anyone who has a ticket to travel with Deutsche Bahn on these days can use their ticket flexibly until April 4, 2023, and any reserved seating can be cancelled without a charge.
Public transport also affected by Monday strikes
The EVG has also called on 240.000 bus and train drivers working in public transport to join the strike. This includes buses, U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams, regional trains, boats and ferries.
Public transport in the German federal states of Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Saxony, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate and Bavaria will all be affected. People travelling with Deutsche Bahn to neighbouring countries such as the Netherlands or Switzerland will also have their journeys disrupted.
This strike will last for the duration of Monday only, but EVG representative Martin Burkert has advised travellers to reach their destination as early as possible on Sunday to avoid disruption.
German airports to ground flights next week
Along with road and rail, staff in all but one German airport, Berlin's BER, are set to walk out on Monday. This means that nearly 380.000 passengers "will not be able to take their flights", the German airport association (ADV) warned.
Frankfurt Airport, Germany's busiest, has cancelled all flights for Monday. Meanwhile, flights to and from Munich Airport are cancelled for Sunday and Monday.
What are the public transport workers demanding?
The transport strike comes after around 400.000 people working in Germany conducted multiple strikes over recent weeks. With the support of ver.di, public transport workers are demanding a 10,5 percent increase in wages, in line with inflation.
As many sectors continue negotiations into the third or fourth round, postal workers at Germany’s Deutsche Post have just won their wage increase. Initially demanding a 10,5 percent increase which Deutsche Post AG refused to deliver, postal workers finally announced an indefinite strike after weeks of negotiations. Days later the company said it would grant employees an average pay increase of 11,5 percent.