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STRIKES

Paris set for transport misery until at least Thursday

Unions representing workers on the Paris public transport system have announced they will extend their strike until at least the end of Thursday, with one union vowing to continue the walk-out until Friday.

Published: 9 December 2019 17:36 CET
Paris set for transport misery until at least Thursday
Photo: AFP

The largest union on the Paris transport network RATP has announced it will be continuing strike action until “Friday inclusive” and has not ruled out action at the weekend.

Jean-Marc Judith, UNSA's RATP delegate, told French newspaper Le Parisian “the members have decided to continue the action until Friday inclusive”.

The union did not rule out “a continuation of the strike next weekend and the following week”, as long as the government does not abandon its pension reform project.

READ ALSO French transport strikes – what happens next and how long do they last?

Other unions representing workers on the city network have set “Thursday inclusive” as their latest strike date.

In reality the action may continue after that if unions and the government cannot reach a compromise on the issue of pension reform, which the cause of the nationwide action.

French president Emmanuel Macron's government wants to reform the current system, streamlining the 42 different regimes on offer now into a single, universal system.

Unions fear that will leave workers out of pocket and working longer, although Macron has pledged not to touch the legal retirement age in France which is 62.

In general the French public have been sympathetic to the strikers, with public support of 60 percent before the strike started and 53 percent in a poll conducted more recently by the Journal du Dimanche.

However in Paris on Monday, commuters that The Local spoke to were starting to sound rather fed up.

Office worker Isabelle, 29, said: “It’s paralysing the whole country. I can’t support the strike in such conditions. It is a nuisance for people who have to go to work”

Pensioner Dominique added: “It's a shame for people who need to commute to work.” while Canadian tourist Mario said: “It makes everything complicated to move around inside Paris”

But there were also people who supported what the strikers were trying to do.

Sandy, a private school teacher, said: “They are fighting for their pensions and mine as well” while fellow teacher Zoe added: “They are right. People should fight for their demands. They should carry on.”

For all the latest breaking news and travel updates, head to our strike section here.

 

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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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