Ver.di has announced that public transport workers across Germany will go on strike between February 26 and March 2, 2024. Transportation in every German federal state apart from Bavaria will be affected.
Starting Monday next week, an estimated 90.000 public transport staff in Germany are set to go out on strike across the country. Buses, trams and U-Bahn trains will be affected.
Industrial action will take place in every German state bar Bavaria, and while the umbrella strike wave is set to last five days, each local transport association will individually decide how many of those strike days to take part in.
For example, traffic in Berlin could be disrupted on Monday and Tuesday and transport in Hamburg on Tuesday and Wednesday. These specifics are yet to be decided. What is known, is that Friday, March 1, is set to be the biggest protest day, when striking workers will demonstrate against the current climate crisis policy and working conditions in tandem with Fridays for Future.
The strike beginning on February 26 marks another in a series of public transport warning strikes, at a time when workers in many other industries are also walking out. The frequency of strikes at the moment is largely to do with the fact that ver.di is in the process of negotiating new collective bargaining agreements in many industries.
Many of the ver.di demands for local transport employees are related to how holiday leave and time off work are structured. The union argues that working in local transport must be more attractive to ease the worker shortage.
Among other things, ver.di is demanding that employees get 33 holiday days regardless of their standing in their association, a 10-minute break for drivers at the end of driving each line and a mandatory rest period of at least 12 hours between two shifts.
Another demand is granting employees one extra holiday day for every 100 hours worked on a night shift, up to a maximum of six days, and scrapping unpaid breaks for drivers.
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