Wednesday will see buses and trains come to a standstill in five German federal states as ver.di prepares to enter further negotiations with Deutsche Eisenbahn e.V at the end of April.

Ver.di announce Wednesday strikes across Germany

After the first, unsuccessful negotiation round, ver.di has announced that a bus and train warning strike (Warnstreik) will take place across five federal states on Wednesday, April 26. Travellers in Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg can expect severe delays and cancellations. 

Around 40 transport associations will take part in the strike, which includes members of the Eisenbahn-Tarifvertrag (ETV). This means that across the five states, only regional trains and local public transport will be affected. The Warnstreik is tactically scheduled for just two days before ver.di is set to re-enter pay negotiations in Hesse.

Ver.di to negotiate for 5.000 employees

With the call to strike ver.di is supporting the around 5.000 transport employees asking for a wage increase of 550 euros per month for the next 12 months. Currently, a 4,8 percent pay increase of 150 euros per month is only scheduled for mid-2024.

“Employees and their families have been hit hard by price rises in recent months,” negotiations leader Volker Nüsse stressed in a statement on the ver.di website. “There needs to be a considerable increase to catch up with recent climbing prices. The Warnstreik should put pressure on employers to make a considerably better offer in the next negotiation round,” Nüsse explained.

As part of his appeal for support of the striking staff, Nüsse added, “The workers who are part of the ETV are doing the work of the future, which is particularly important in the context of the energy and climate crises, but their working conditions do not reflect the importance of their jobs.”

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