Massive social movement in German transport on Monday

Germany is preparing for Black Monday. Employees are called upon for the entire transport sector in Germany strike Trying to influence the ongoing wage negotiations in context High inflation. Verdi and EVG unions said at a press conference Berlin. Such unified movement between the two unions is extremely rare in the eurozone’s first economy, where tariff negotiations take place branch by branch.

EVG represents 230,000 employees of railway companies, while Ver.di stands for public service employees. “We expect a lot of participation in the strikes,” said Verdi president Frank Wernick. This call illustrates the increasingly tense social climate in the country, affected by the high inflation rate, which reached 8.7% in February. Several strikes have taken place for several months, affecting various professional sectors of the public, from schools to hospitals.

It demanded wage increases to offset inflation

The two unions are calling for large wage increases, respectively 10.5% for Verdi and 12% for EVG, in order to offset inflation. Claims that have been rejected during negotiation sessions in recent weeks by employers’ representatives, which mainly include the state and municipalities.

These derniers propose a 5% augmentation with unique verses of 1,000 and 1,500 euros, respectively, between May 2023 and January 2024. The syndicates indicate that the conditions of travail deterioration are in the context of the manque structure of the main structure. Country.

Tariff negotiations resume next week for the entire service branch. The airports of Bremen, Berlin, Hamburg and Hanover had already had to cancel 351 flights on March 11, due to a 24-hour work stoppage by staff in charge of security checks.

20 minutes with AFP