Many of Germany’s train drivers staged a 24-hour strike on Tuesday in the latest installment of a long-running and bitter dispute over working hours with the country’s main railway operator, while a walkout by cabin crew at Lufthansa added to disruptions for travelers, as reported by the Associated Press (AP).
The latest GDL walkout — the sixth in a dispute that began last year — coincided with a separate 19-hour strike by Lufthansa cabin crew on flights departing from Frankfurt. I Photo: GDL - Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer Facebook
The GDL union called on drivers of state-owned Deutsche Bahn’s passenger trains to walk out starting at 2 a.m. It announced the strike only on Sunday evening, following through on an announcement made last week that it would no longer provide 48 hours’ notice.
The main sticking point in the dispute is GDL’s demand for working hours to be reduced from 38 to 35 hours per week without a pay cut. Some smaller private operators that run regional services have agreed to this demand.
The latest GDL walkout — the sixth in a dispute that began last year — coincided with a separate 19-hour strike by Lufthansa cabin crew on flights departing from Frankfurt, the German airline’s main hub.
The UFO union called on cabin crew to strike from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Tuesday as it seeks a 15% pay increase and one-time payments of 3,000 euros per employee to offset inflation.
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