Trade union Verdi said local transport services in six states will come to a standstill after negotiations for a wage increase failed to reach a breakthrough.
Public transport employees in six German states will walk off the job on Friday after the latest round of wage negotiations ended without an agreement, trade union Verdi announced Wednesday.
The states of Baden-Württemberg, Bremen, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate are expected to be affected.
Union negotiators are demanding an 8% wage increase and more days off for staff.
“The situation for employees in the public transport sector is extremely problematic,” said Verdi deputy chairwoman Christine Behle. “There are far too few staff, so that the workload is constantly increasing.”
How many employees are going on strike?
Verdi said the strike was expected to last all day on Friday and would affect 53,000 employees and around 70 municipal transport companies.
The second round of collective bargaining ended on Tuesday without a breakthrough. Negotiations are set to continue on March 14 in the city of Potsdam.
At the same time, public transport workers in other parts of Germany are also expected to walk off the job as a result of separate wage disputes. In Berlin, employees of the Berlin Transport Company (BVG) will begin a 48-hour strike from Thursday morning.
