Germany: 50-hour Rail Strike Called off — Reports
The EVG union and Deutsche Bahn have said that they've reached an agreement ahead of a planned 50-hour strike.
The EVG union and Deutsche Bahn have said that they've reached an agreement ahead of a planned 50-hour strike.The 50-hour strike that had been called to start on Sunday evening across Germany's rail network has been averted after the union and rail operator Deutsche Bahn came to a compromise, German media reported on Saturday.
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Public broadcaster HR reported that a labor court in Frankfurt am Main had put forward a settlement proposal that both the union and Deutsche Bahn agreed to.
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Germany's national rail operator Deutsche Bahn had earlier in the day asked for an urgent court order to block the strike.
Deutsche Bahn had said it would cancel all long-distance trains and most regional services during the strike. The rail operator had said legal action was necessary to stop the strike "in the interest of the customers."
Why did EVG call for a 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 07:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).