EVG represents about 230,000 railway employees, while Ver.di defends public service employees, according to AFP.
“We expect a large participation in the strikes,” Verdi president Frank Wernicke said.
This call indicates the increasingly tense social climate in Germany, which is witnessing strong inflation of 8.7% last February, and several strikes have been carried out for several months, affecting various professional sectors, schools and hospitals.
The two unions are calling for large wage increases of 10.5% for Verdi and 12% for “EVG” to compensate for the effects of inflation, demands that were rejected during negotiating sessions in recent weeks by representatives of employers, who are mainly the state and municipalities.
The state and municipalities propose an increase of 5%, with two single payments of 1,000 and 1,500 euros, respectively, in May 2023 and January 2024.
Unions also complain of deteriorating working conditions in the context of a labor shortage in the country.
On March 11, the airports of Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg and Hanover were forced to cancel 351 flights because security staff stopped working for 24 hours.
The strike has affected the port of Hamburg, the largest in Germany, since Wednesday, which has restricted the entry of ships over 90 meters in length.
