Public transport in Germany has stopped working as workers demand better conditions.
Public transport across Germany came to a standstill on Monday after a nationwide warning strike halted buses, trams, and subway trains, forcing millions of travelers to seek alternative means of transportation in major cities.
The Ver.di union organized the strike, calling for about 100,000 workers from around 150 municipal transport companies to stop working for 24 hours starting from the early hours of Monday morning. The strike included all German states except for Lower Saxony.
The disruptions during the morning rush hours were the most severe in cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Munich, where most bus, metro, and tram services were canceled or almost completely stopped.
Ver.di negotiator, Serhat Can Yurt, stated that the strike was inevitable, emphasizing that employers had not taken the union's demands seriously despite two months having passed since they were raised. He added that the main goal of the union is to achieve real progress at the negotiating table.
The union demands a significant reduction in weeks and hours of work, an increase in rest periods between shifts, and an increase in financial allowances for night work and weekends. In several states, including Bavaria, Brandenburg, Saarland, and Thuringia, Ver.di is also negotiating for wage increases with companies and municipal transport operators.