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TRAFFIC

Agency gives gas on speed limit reforms

People will be able to drive faster on some of Spain's motorways if a new draft law by Spain's traffic authority gets the go-ahead.

Agency gives gas on speed limit reforms
Proposed new rules would see faster motorways in Spain but lower speeds on most other roads. Photo: Luis García

If the new draft traffic rules get the green light, speed limits on parts of Spain's motorway network could be bumped up 10 kilometres per hour to 130 kph (118 miles per hour), Europa Press reported on Thursday.

On secondary roads, however, the speed limit could come down to 90 kph, from the current 100 kph.

There traffic agency is also looking at bringing down limits to anywhere from 50 to 70 kph if the roads in question are narrower than 6.5 metres. 

The law that is still under discussion would also see urban driving speeds coming down to 30 kph one-way streets, or even 20 kph if there is only one footpath.

The proposed rules would also make radar detectors illegal and do away with a seat belt regime  which allows disabled people or people with serious illnesses to travel without doing up their seat belts.

Those taxi drivers, delivery men and emergency service vehicles who are also currently exempt from buckling up on certain roads will have to adapt their habits.

The  rules would also put a stop to children shorter than 135 centimetres travelling in the front seat of cars.

The policy changes are designed to reduce the risk of injuries and death on the road, reported Europa Press.

Spain has made great strides in road safety. In 2011,  2,116 died on the nation's roads. That was 9.4 percent lower than in 2010.

Over the last decade, deaths on Spain's roads fell by roughly a third, reported the country's national stats institute on February 27th.   

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TRAVEL NEWS

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

Germany's Deutsche Bahn rail operator and the GDL train drivers' union have reached a deal in a wage dispute that has caused months of crippling strikes in the country, the union said.

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of 420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of 2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some 200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of 2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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