On February 21, public transport workers will protest in six federal states of Germany. According to German media, the service sector union Verdi has announced a large-scale strike that will affect public transport.
53,000 workers from over 70 companies are expected to walk off the job.
The action is aimed at supporting demands for higher salaries for public sector employees. The strike will cover the states of Baden-Württemberg, Bremen, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate.
Negotiations on tariffs between unions and employers have not yet yielded results. Verdi representatives are demanding an 8% wage increase, or at least EUR 350 per month. However, the employers have not yet submitted counter-proposals.
"The situation of public transport workers is extremely problematic. There are too few employees, so the workload is constantly increasing," said Verdi vice-chairwoman Cristina Belle.
In addition, Berlin public transport employees will participate in the strike. The union announced that employees of the Berlin transport company will go on a two-day strike tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. This will lead to serious disruptions in the work of the subway, buses and trams in the German capital.
The next round of negotiations between the unions and the authorities will take place from March 14 to 16 in Potsdam. New strikes are possible until then if the parties fail to reach a compromise.