Verdi, the services union, announced on Friday that municipal public‑transport workers will go on strike nationwide on Monday.
The union is in ongoing wage negotiations with the municipal employer associations, demanding improved working conditions such as shorter working hours and higher premiums for night and weekend shifts. Almost 100 000 employees across 150 public‑transport and bus companies are affected.
Christine Behle, Verdi’s deputy chair, described in a statement the heavy burden faced by public‑transport staff, citing adverse working hours and shift work. She said that employers have refused nearly every improvement offered in the negotiations and, in some cases, even proposed worse conditions. Behle warned that such employer conduct threatens essential public services and the public’s ability to use public transport.
Employees in Lower Saxony remain exempt from striking because of the peace obligation. In Hamburg, the Hochbahn will decide by Friday whether its workers will join the strike.
