Nationwide strikes to be held in public transport across Germany

There are expected to be significant all-day disruptions in public transport across Germany on Monday due to a nationwide strike by the trade union Verdi.

Buses, trams and underground trains are expected to remain in the depots of many municipal transport companies as a result of the industrial action.

Almost all 16 federal states are affected, Verdi announced ahead of the strikes.

According to the trade union, only Lower Saxony is not affected initially. For the approximately 5,000 public transport employees in Lower Saxony, there is an agreement not to strike for now.

Meanwhile, the regional and suburban commuter trains of rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) are expected to run without restrictions.

“The suburban commuter trains in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Cologne, Nuremberg, Rhein-Main [the Frankfurt metropolitan area] and the regional and long-distance services of DB are not represented by Verdi as a company and are therefore not affected by the strike,” the state-owned company announced.

In the collective bargaining negotiations, which are mostly conducted with the municipal employers’ associations in all federal states, Verdi is demanding significantly better working conditions in particular – such as shorter weekly working hours and shift times, longer rest periods, but also higher bonuses for work at night and on weekends.

According to the union, in the states of Bavaria, Brandenburg, Saarland and Thuringia, and at the Hamburg underground network, negotiations are also taking place on higher wages and salaries.