Germany: Train Drivers Went On Stike, Passengers Left Stranded
BERLIN. On August 11, Wednesday. Train drivers who went on a strike (regarding payment issues) are seriously affecting traffic across Germany, adding pressure to the European supply chain, which is in high demand during the summer, and disappointing to many passengers.
Information from Deutsche Bahn (auskunft deutsche bahn). The railway company said in a statement that approximately 190 freight trains have ceased operations, and the strike has had a significant impact on industrial supply chains in Germany and Europe, which have been affected by the COVID-19 bottleneck. He said it could be given.
After COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed, many people went on summer vacation, and passenger demand was high.
Akim Staus, Byrne spokesperson said the company managed to continue operations of some of its long-distance trains and hopes to run between major cities at least every two hours.
“Today, we are committed to helping people reach their destinations,” Staus said.
It is said that the strike will continue until Friday morning.
According to Forsa’s survey of TV channels RTL and n-tv, 50% of the respondents opposed the strike, and 42% believed that the strike was appropriate.
The stranded passengers waited for the delayed train at stations across Germany.
“I understand and support this strike, but the problem is that there is very little information about it on the Internet,” said David Zhengyu, a traveler trapped in Berlin Central Station.
The German Automobile Industry Association (VDA) stated that the strike may exacerbate problems in the logistics industry, which must recover from the effects of the pandemic.
VDA President Hildegard Muller told Reuters: “Due to supply chain disruptions may quickly lead to production shutdowns, long-term strikes will cause huge losses to companies.”
President Klaus Wesselski told ZDF on Wednesday that the GDL union representing some train drivers will decide whether to continue the strike next week.
According to Wezelski, the passenger strike that began at 0200 local time on Wednesday (0000 GMT) has so far brought about 700 trains to a halt.
GDL is asking for an increase of about 3.2% in salary and a one-time coronavirus allowance of 600 euros. Deutsche Bahn proposes to increase wages in two stages within the next two years, but the union hopes to increase wages at an early date.
Japan National Railways reported that with the relaxation of COVID-19 travel restrictions and freight improvement after a loss of 5.7 billion euros in 2020, business began to recover in April.
The company expects to return to profitability in 2022, but the floods that hit western Germany last month caused losses of approximately 1.3 billion euros (1.53 billion US dollars).