Fresh strikes by train, air staff hit Germany

BERLIN — Many of Germany's train drivers staged a 24-hour strike on Tuesday in the latest installment of a long-running and bitter dispute over working hours with the country's main railway operator, while a walkout by cabin crew at Lufthansa added to disruptions for travelers.

The GDL union called on drivers of state-owned Deutsche Bahn's passenger trains to walk out starting at 2 am. It called the strike only on Sunday evening, making good on an announcement last week that it would no longer give 48 hours' notice.

The main sticking point in the dispute is GDL's demand for working hours to be reduced from 38 to 35 hours per week without a pay cut. Some smaller private operators that operate regional services have agreed to the demand.

In several weeks of talks between the union and Deutsche Bahn, moderators suggested a reduction from 38 to 36 hours by 2028, but the details of their proposal didn't satisfy GDL. The union demanded a new offer by Sunday evening, which wasn't forthcoming.

"We are convinced that we will only succeed in reaching an agreement through dialogue at the negotiating table," said Deutsche Bahn's human resources director Martin Seiler.

Deutsche Bahn said it had made concessions amounting to up to 13 percent more pay, as well as the option of cutting the working week down to 37 hours starting in 2026.

'Irresponsible' move

Transport Minister Volker Wissing told Bild newspaper that "striking instead of negotiating is irresponsible". He pressed GDL to resume talks and said formal arbitration proceedings must be launched.

The latest GDL walkout — the sixth in a dispute that started last year — coincided with a separate 19-hour strike by Lufthansa cabin crew on flights departing from Frankfurt, the German airline's main hub.

The UFO union called on cabin crew to strike from 4 am to 11 pm on Tuesday as it seeks a 15 percent pay increase and one-time payments of 3,000 euros per employee to offset inflation.

A similar walkout by cabin crew on flights departing from Munich continued to Wednesday. Lufthansa estimated ahead of the walkouts that a total of 1,000 flights would be canceled over the next two days.

Those strikes follow a walkout last week by ground staff members for Lufthansa in a dispute involving a different union.

Europe's largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across numerous sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

Agencies via Xinhua