Deutsche Bahn Asks Court to Block 50-hour Rail Strike
The rail company is hoping to prevent the strike and three days of travel disruptions with legal action.
The rail company is hoping to prevent the strike and three days of travel disruptions with legal action. Meanwhile, one in four Germans say they don't understand the strike.Germany's national rail operator Deutsche Bahn asked for an urgent court order to block a 50-hour rail strike set to begin on Sunday evening.
The rail strike which was announced by Germany's rail and transport workers' trade union, the EVG, is expected to severely impact train traffic on Monday and Tuesday next week.
Deutsche Bahn said it will cancel all long-distance trains and most regional services during the strike.
The industrial action comes amid faltering negotiations between the union and Deutsche Bahn.
But the rail operator said legal action was necessary to stop the strike "in the interest of the customers."
Why is EVG holding the strike?
The EVG has been negotiating new collective agreements with 50 railway companies for 230,000 employees, 180,000 of whom work for German national rail operator Deutsche Bahn.
According to the EVG, the strike will affect Deutsche Bahn and other transport companies.
The workers' decision to strike has been called "crazy" and "excessive" by Deutsche Bahn's head of personnel Martin Seiler.
"The patience of our members is now really exhausted," EVG wage negotiator Cosima Ingenschay said on Thursday. "We are forced to strike for 50 hours to show how serious the situation is."
Railway workers have carried out several rounds of strikes over the previous months, including actions called by major union Verdi, as soaring inflation drives up the cost of living.
One in four don't understand the strike
A survey report published on Saturday showed that one out of four people in Germany has "no understanding at all" about the upcoming 50-hour rail strike.
A total of 1,010 people took part in the polls conducted by the polling company YouGov, for the German press agency, DPA.
Only 19% of the people claimed that they completely understood the industrial action.
While 26% of people admitted that they were "rather sympathetic" to the decision of holding a rail strike in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute, the other 26% of people said that they were "rather unsympathetic" to the action.
ab, mf/rc (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 13, 2023 06:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).