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What you need to know about Berlin’s full day public transport strike

Passengers in the German capital faced huge disruption Monday as a full day public transport worker strike got underway.

Published: 1 April 2019 08:08 CEST
What you need to know about Berlin's full day public transport strike
Information from the BVG at a bus stop. Photo: DPA
Underground trains (U-Bahn), buses and trams were at a standstill in the third – and toughest yet  – strike by 'Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) staff.

The Verdi trade union called on its members to down their tools and walk out in the industrial action which started in the early morning of April 1st and is due to last the whole day.

Commuters took to their bikes, walked or worked from home during the action.

SEE ALSO: IN PICTURES: Berlin public transport strike ends but more disruption expected

BVG is Germany's largest local public transport company with more than 2.9 million customer trips per day.

The S-Bahn lines are not directly affected because these trains belong to the operator Deutsche Bahn. Regional trains are also not operated by BVG, so passengers can switch to these means of transport.

S-Bahn services and regional trains were, however, expected to be busy as people can use them as alternative transport during the action.

SEE ALSO: Passengers face disruption as bus drivers in Berlin set to strike

Services in operation

The S-Bahn announced that it would deploy more trains. There will be around 80 additional journeys on the S5 between Mahlsdorf and Warschauer Straße from 5 am to about 6 pm. The DB regional trains will run on Monday according to schedule. Deutsche Bahn said passengers should expect very busy trains.

The following subcontractor-operated bus lines will run during the warning strike: 106, 161, 162, 163, 168, 175, 179, 218, 234, 263, 275, 284, 320, 322, 334, 341, 349, 363, 365, 371, 373, 380, 399.

The following lines operate with slight restrictions: 112, 140, 184, 283, 370 and 893. Line 390 is only used regularly in the early morning hours.

The BVG ferry lines are in operation.

Photo: DPA

SEE ALSO: Full day strike set for Berlin public transport

Airport passengers

The strike has created problems for people travelling to Berlin's airports, especially Tegel which is difficult to reach without BVG transport. The Berlin Airport Service said it would offer an irregular emergency shuttle service from Jungfernheide S-Bahn station.

According to airport spokesman Daniel Tolksdorf, a total of six buses will be in operation from 5am to around midnight. “This time we have not only coaches, but also low-floor buses that are easier to board,” Tolksdorf told the Berliner Morgenpost.

Despite the shuttle buses, the airport spokesman recommended that travellers plan much more time for their journey. “Monday is traditionally one of the busiest days of the week. We expect more than 65,000 passengers,” said Tolksdorf.

In the terminals, the airport company intends to deploy additional staff to look after passengers. For this reason, the viewing terrace at Tegel will also be closed on Monday.

Verdi rejected latest offer

The action is taking place as negotiations over pay and conditions for around 14,600 employees of BVG and its subsidiary Berlin Transport (BT) continue.

There have been two other strikes in Berlin during these negotiations. On Friday, February 15th, the majority of U-Bahn, tram and bus services were halted from early morning until 12noon. Traffic slowly resumed to normal afterwards. Further action took place on March 14th as bus drivers in the capital went on strike.

Verdi rejected the latest offer from the employers last Thursday.

“An agreement in the collective bargaining conflict was not possible due to the offer submitted by the employer,” said Jeremy Arndt, Verdi negotiator. “Unfortunately, not all workers are benefiting from the increases the employers proposed.”

Among other things, Verdi wants to implement a 36.5-hour working week with full wage compensation. At present, almost half of the employees hired since 2005 have to work 39 hours.

The strikes have been described by those representing the employers as “completely inappropriate”.
 

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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.

Published: 26 March 2024 09:55 CET
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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