German cities brace for transport disruption amid strike

Many German cities and municipalities will face public transport disruptions on Monday after the Ver.di labour union called on workers to strike over shorter working hours and higher bonuses.

“Public transport employees are under a lot of stress due to extremely unfavourable working hours, shift work, and constant time pressure,” Christine Behle, the union’s deputy chairwoman, said in a statement published on Ver.di’s website over the weekend. “We urgently need improvements here in order to stop the high turnover rate and once again find reliable skilled workers for public transport.”

Collective bargaining talks are ongoing across Germany’s 16 federal states, with Ver.di, the country’s second-largest union, pressing for improved working conditions. Its demands include reduced weekly hours and shorter shifts, extended rest periods, and higher bonuses for night and weekend work.

In Bavaria, Brandenburg, Hamburg, Saarland and Thuringia, wage and salary increases are currently being negotiated as well.

The dispute involves almost 100,000 employees in 150 municipal transport and bus companies, according to Ver.di. The strike doesn’t affect intercity train connections run by state-owned railway operator Deutsche Bahn.