Germany is bracing for a big warning strike day in public transport, as both the railway and transport union (EVG) and Verdi fight for more income in different collective bargaining rounds. However, ahead of the strike, Germany’s employers are accusing the unions of excessive action. Steffen Kampeter, the chief executive of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA), said that the action was “disproportionate and jeopardizes acceptance of the right to strike.”
The warnings strikes will be unprecedented in their scale, affecting long-distance, regional and S-Bahn traffic on the rails, many German airports, waterways and ports as well as motorways. The President of the Association of Municipal Employers’ Associations (VKA), Karin Welge, called on the unions to give constructive signals for the third round of collective bargaining for the municipal and federal public sector, which begins on Monday – the decisive background for the warning strikes.
However, Kampeter warned that the fight for members should not radicalize collective bargaining in Germany, saying: “a look at France shows where it leads when you go down the incline.” The Airline Association Barig also criticized the unions’ actions as “irresponsible,” calling the mobility restrictions they will cause “disproportionately severe.”
The unusual aspect of the planned warning strike day is that it overlaps with the negotiations, namely the third round beginning in Potsdam for the 2.5 million federal and local employees. While legally possible, the procedure has been criticized by some employers, with Markus Jerger, the head of the Federal Association of Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW), stating: “companies and the population must not be taken hostage for demands that are not expedient in the current economic situation.”
