The German trade union Verdi has called on public transportation employees in several federal states to stage a warning strike on Friday. The states affected are Baden-Württemberg, Bremen, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, according to Verdi’s statement on Wednesday.
The warning strikes are expected to take place throughout the day, from the start of the working day to the end, Verdi’s vice chair Christine Behle said. “The situation of employees in public transportation is extremely problematic” she added. “There is a severe lack of personnel, leading to a constant increase in work density.” Moreover, thousands of employees in the public transportation sector will retire in the coming years.
In addition to the warning strikes in the six federal states directly linked to the TVÖD, other companies linked to the TVÖD through collective agreements will also participate. A total of 53,000 employees in 69 companies in cities and counties will be affected by the strike, according to Verdi. At the same time, employees in further collective bargaining rounds in public transportation, including those of the Berlin public transportation company, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and those of the private bus industry in Baden-Württemberg, will also participate in the strike.
The background to the strike is the collective bargaining round for the public sector, with the second round having ended on Tuesday without an offer for the employees of the public sector at the federal and local levels, according to Verdi.