Germany faces renewed wave of airport, train strikes

Germany's transport sector is expected to come to a halt later this week as train drivers and Lufthansa ground staff announced plans for renewed strikes.

The strike in passenger transport is to start on Thursday at 2 am (0100 GMT) and is to last for 35 hours, the head of Germany's train drivers' union GDL, Claus Welesky, announced on Monday.

In the rail freight sector, the strike is set to begin on Wednesday at 6 pm.

"This strike will last a total of 35 hours, 35 hours so that everyone in the country realizes what we are talking about: namely the 35-hour week," said Weselsky.

The GDL union also said it no longer plans to announce future strikes 48 hours in advance.

This is the fifth strike in the months-long wage dispute with state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn. The union broke off the most recent round of negotiations on Thursday after around four weeks.

The GDL and Deutsche Bahn have been struggling for months to reach a new collective labour agreement. The sticking point is the union's demand for a reduction in weekly working hours from 38 to 35 hours for shift workers without financial losses.

Earlier on Monday, trade union verdi again called on ground staff at Germany's largest airline Lufthansa to strike on Thursday and Friday, a move that is expected to affect passengers.

The industrial action over pay and conditions is to begin in the passenger-related areas at 4 am (0300 GMT) on Thursday and end at 7:10 am on Saturday.

There have already been two waves of strikes in the current wage dispute for around 25,000 ground staff, each of which paralysed passenger traffic for around a day.

Last week, verdi staged strikes in Lufthansa's technical and cargo handling departments in order to force the company to make an improved offer.

Verdi has demanded 12.5% more pay and an inflation compensation bonus for one year. Lufthansa has so far offered 10% higher salaries for 28 months.

The next round of talks is scheduled for March 13 and 14. Verdi is only prepared to hold talks earlier if an improved offer is made.

Lufthansa had expressed its outrage at the continued strikes and criticized in particular verdi's preconditions for returning to the negotiating table, leading the company to question the wage negotiations as a whole.

Verdi negotiator Marvin Reschinsky regretted the impact on passengers in a statement: "Over the past few days, we have deliberately omitted passenger traffic from our strikes.

"However, by ignoring our request to negotiate, Lufthansa is telling us that it will only move when the pressure increases further.

"Passengers urgently need solutions and reliability; The employees and we are ready to provide this with a serious offer.

Deutsche Bahn said the renewed strike by German train drivers' union GDL will have a "massive impact" on operations.

Deutsche Bahn's head of human resources, Martin Seiler, also criticized the GDL union's announcement on Monday that it would no longer provide at least 48 hours' notice of further strikes.

"These so-called wave strikes are a sheer imposition for our passengers."

Because the train drivers' union is not getting its maximum demands, it is striking again, said Seiler. "That's stubborn and selfish. Many millions of people in our country cannot travel by train because the GDL leadership is unwilling to compromise."

The railway is still prepared to find constructive but realistic solutions, he said. However, he added, the GDL's maximum demands are unrealizable and pose a considerable threat to the railway system.