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Transport disruption as bus driver strike continues in German state of Hesse

Commuters, school pupils and other passengers were hit with cancellations and delays on Wednesday as bus drivers went on strike for the second day in a row.

Transport disruption as bus driver strike continues in German state of Hesse
Lots of passengers wait for buses in Frankfurt on Tuesday during the first day of the strike. Photo: DPA

Drivers in around 25 cities in the central state of Hesse, including Frankfurt, Hanau, Fulda and Offenbach, have been taking part in the action, Verdi negotiator Jochen Koppel said. In Frankfurt, 56 of 64 bus lines were hit by cancellations on Tuesday when the action began.

On Wednesday it was a similar picture, reported German broadcaster Hessenschau.

The dispute between private bus companies in Hesse and Verdi is over pay and conditions. The Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV), which operates the region's public transport network, is not involved in the row. However, it is publishing updates on the strike and the lines affected.

On the RMV website, a statement said the strike would last an “indefinite period”. The union Verdi has also not said when the strike will end.

In Fulda, school buses were also cancelled.

Verdi confirmed on Wednesday morning that buses were at a standstill in many locations, including Gießen and Darmstadt. 

Meanwhile, in Frankfurt, passengers also had to deal with possible cancellations and delays on underground trains and trams due to staff meetings involving transport operator VGF.

There was also expected to be some disruption on the rail network.

READ ALSO: The long trading history that turned Frankfurt into a financial powerhouse

In Hanau, Hesse, an employee puts a sign up on a bus. Photo: DPA

A total of about 3,000 drivers are expected to join the strike over the course of the day. According to the union, about 3,100 drivers had downed their tools in the first day of action on Tuesday. “We had a very strong start,” said a spokeswoman.

Wage increases

Verdi wants to see wage increases as well as more paid breaks and holidays for the 4,400 drivers of private bus companies in the region.

The union wants the basic salary to rise from €13.50 to €16.60 per hour.

However, the collective bargaining conflict seems to be deadlocked.

The regional association of bus and coach operators in Hesse (LHO) called on the union to return to the negotiating table. The LHO had offered to increase the basic wage to €15.60 per hour over the next four years. The fifth round of negotiations last Thursday was unsuccessful.

Managing director of the association, Volker Tuchan, said on Tuesday: “Our offer from Thursday is on the table.”

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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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