Germany Faces Travel Chaos As Airport, Rail Workers Strike
Date
3/26/2023 2:24:31 PM
(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Bloomberg
Germany's air and rail services are grinding to a halt Monday during a one-day strike as workers join peers in France and the UK to fight for higher pay.
The industrial action will begin at midnight Sunday for 24 hours and also affect some ports, with the Verdi and EVG transport and railway unions expecting severe disruption to travel, according to a statement. Verdi is demanding a raise of 10.5% for public sector workers.
Major airports including Frankfurt and Munich won't operate Monday. Frankfurt Airport also advised passengers changing plane to avoid the hub. Long-distance, regional and local trains operated by Deutsche Bahn and other railway will also come to a standstill, EVG said.
Verdi Hamburg on Saturday said it has made agreements with all affected companies in order to guarantee safe passage in the event of accidents, emergency landings or medical or patient transport.
"Numerous connections are already canceled every day because trains are no longer running due to a lack of staff,” EVG head Martin Burkert said in a Thursday statement. "This situation will continue to worsen because railway and transport companies will continue to bleed out personnel if wages are not significantly increased now.”
European workers in public service roles have staged repeated walkouts in recent weeks demanding better pay amid record inflation and a cost of living crisis. In France, President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform has prompted violent clashes.
The disruptions to French and German airports in particular hit the industry ahead of a peak travel period, with Easter approaching and travelers returning in droves after years of Covid-19 restrictions.
EVG does not plan any strike action over the Easter holidays, German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported Sunday.
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