|
BERLIN: German transport workers paralyzed local train and bus
services Thursday on the second day of strikes by public workers to
back demands for wage increases to counter rising fuel and food
prices.
After hitting Germany’s most populous state
North Rhine-Westphalia on Wednesday, Thursday’s action was
centered on the southern states of Hesse, Baden-Wuerttemberg,
Bavaria and Saarland, as well as in the capital Berlin.
In Hesse at least 15,000 workers were expected
to strike, hitting public services including local transport
networks, while in Baden-Wuerttemberg 20,000 were due to took part,
the Verdi union said.
Around 5,000 people were expected to down tools
in the Bavarian capital, Munich.
A strike in the capital Berlin brought the
city’s public transport network to a near standstill in an action
that could last until at least March 14. Rubbish collectors also
stopped work.
A one-day strike Wednesday caused chaos at
airports with cancellations and delays around Germany including in
Frankfurt, continental Europe’s busiest hub.
Verdi is pressing for an eight percent pay hike
for its 1.3 million members in the public sector. Employers have
proposed a four percent hike and longer working hours. The two sides
were to hold a fifth round of talks in Potsdam near Berlin on
Thursday but Verdi said it was not optimistic an agreement would
emerge.
Germany’s entire train network could also be
hit next week with the GDL train drivers’ union threatening to
resume strikes in a protracted dispute with the state-owned rail
provider Deutsche Bahn.
The hard line taken by GDL, which has called a
series of strikes since last summer, and by Verdi is seen as a sign
that German trade unions are increasingly reluctant to cede ground
in labor disputes.
-- AFP
|
