A fresh round of public sector strikes has created chaos within Germany’s public transport system. On March 6th, as members of labor union Ver.di held the strike, airports and other public transport systems were completely paralyzed. These unusual strikes affected state-run institutions such as healthcare centers and hospitals as well, though not to the same degree as the transport system in Berlin which experienced a complete halt. If all their requests are not complied with, these strikes are likely to progress further said one of the employees of the association.

According to the airport spokesperson, around 180 flights at the Munich airport were being canceled due to the strikes. Frankfurt, the biggest airport in Germany was hit with 94 flights being cancelled. Some of the other main airports in the region such as Stuttgart, Munster, Düsseldorf, Cologne-Bonn and Nuremberg were also affected by these strikes. Even the CeBIT trade fair in the northern city of Hanover was affected. On March 6th, Lufthansa Airlines had to cancel over 300 domestic flights and instead recommended the passengers board trains to reach their destinations quicker. One spokesperson for Lufthansa said that international flights were not affected so they have transferred 18,500 passengers on the later flights.

Germany’s second-largest labor union Ver.di has said that this strike would continue for a week in order to force the local and state governments to hold fresh talks regarding negotiations which were supposed to take place on March 7th in Potsdam. The labor union has demanded an 8% increase in payrolls while the employers are offering only 5% with their working hours being increased to 40 hours a week from 38.5 hours. It was expected that airport employees would return to their shifts on Wednesday afternoon, though a new wave of strikes is set to hit the region. The labor union has insisted that all the workers from the child care, waste collection and transportation sector walk off their jobs, and even employees from state owned banks, theaters, city administrations, retirement homes, and hospitals have been asked to join the strikes.

Frank Bsirke, the labor union chief, said that the strikes were held to warn the government and to end the disputes by agreeing to the demands of the union. Meanwhile, the employers have slamed the industrial action. The head of German Association of Municipalities and Towns, Mr. Gerd Landsberg said that the paralyzing transportation system is entirely inappropriate. He also said that these negotiations are unavoidable.

The labor union has warned public employers that if their demands are not met then things may get worse. Bsirke said that the public employers should place an offer with considerable increase in the payrolls and there should even be a cut in working hours, or else unions are likely to act fiercely. The tram, subway and bus services were also affected by the unusual strikes. More than 12,000 employees were off duty which forced the regional trains to be over crowded amidst the snow flurries. The workers of the BVG transport company in Berlin threatened to extend their strikes until March 14th.

Tags: European Economy News //