One of the biggest strikes in decades in Germany is taking place today and is expected to hit rail and air transport in Europe’s biggest economy.
Staff at airports, ports, railways, buses and subways in Germany went on a 24-hour strike shortly after midnight.
Unions are calling for higher wages to help their members cope with the rising cost of living across the country.
There have been multiple smaller work stoppages in other areas of the public service, but Monday’s strike will be the country’s biggest in decades.
The two unions participating in the strike are among the largest in Germany. Verdi represents around 2.5 million workers across the public sector, including public transport and airports. EVG represents around 230,000 workers at Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s national railway company, and other bus companies.
Unions hope the strike will increase pressure on employers ahead of another round of wage negotiations.
Frank Wernecke, the head of Verdi, described the wage increase as a matter of survival for many thousands of workers, according to local media. “People are not only underpaid, but desperately overworked,” he said.
Verdi wants to secure a 10.5% pay rise for staff, while the other union involved, EVG, wants a 12% increase.
Germany’s national rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, condemned the plans as “completely excessive, unfounded and unnecessary”.
Transport strike: Reactions and cancellations
At Munich airport on Sunday, many flights were cancelled. Germany’s airports association said around 380,000 air carriers would be affected by the strike, but added that it “goes beyond any possible and justifiable measure”.
Some employers’ representatives warn that unions are making unreasonable demands, which risk alienating them from public opinion.
However, some unions have managed to win pay rises, including postal workers who won an 11.5% increase in early March.
