Train traffic in Germany was almost paralyzed due to strikes on April 21 announced by the EVG railway and transport workers' union, Deutsche Welle reports.
Employees of roughly 50 railway companies in the country have joined the strike from 03:00 local time.
The railway company Deutsche Bahn has warned that there may be interruptions in the movement of trains until the evening. The service union Ver.di informed that the strikes that started yesterday at Hamburg, Cologne/Bonn, and Dusseldorf airports continued with Stuttgart and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden airports joining them on April 21.
Demands of unions:
The EVG union demands a 12% increase in the salary of German railway employees, with minimum wages equaling at least €650 euros per month. Ver.di is reportedly asking for a rise in the salary of airport employees who work at night, on weekends, and on holidays. As a result of the negotiations held on April 11 and 12, no agreement was reached, and the next round of talks is planned for April 27-28.
The last major strikes of German transport workers took place in March. Union-organized protests are allegedly almost always announced in advance—under German law, as this is not considered grounds for being late or absent.
In December, more than 1,000 workers at The New York Times announced a 24-hour strike for the first time in 40 years. The employees demanded an increase in wages and the possibility of remote work.
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