In the next two days, residents of Germany who are going on a trip around the country will have to change their plans. On the night of Wednesday, August 11, the drivers of passenger trains began a federal 48-hour strike. The strike began at 02:00 local time (03:00 Moscow time) and will end on Friday night.
The head of the GDL trade union, Klaus Weselski, announced the strikers' demands against the Deutsche Bahn concern, which runs the German railways. Train drivers are demanding a 1.4% salary increase and a one-time bonus for work during the coronavirus pandemic in 2021 in the amount of 600 euros. Deutsche Bahn called such demands of railroad workers “escalation at the wrong time.”
Due to the strike, which threatens to paralyze rail links in Germany and turn into chaos at train stations across the country, the concern has already canceled 75% of long-distance trains, promising all passengers affected by this strike to exchange tickets for another date for free, TASS reports.
