Warning strike paralyzes local transport in four Saxon cities

Passengers in several Saxon cities will have to prepare themselves for an extensive standstill in local public transport on Monday (February 2). Employees of municipal transport companies in Chemnitz, Dresden, Leipzig and Zwickau have been called out on a day-long warning strike, according to the trade union Verdi. The walkout is part of nationwide warning strikes in local public transport.

With the work stoppages, Verdi aims to increase the pressure on municipal employers in parallel wage negotiations. According to the union, it is to be expected that traffic in the affected companies will largely come to a standstill. Warning strikes have also been announced in numerous other German cities on this day.

Verdi: "Frontal attack on its own employees"

The background to this is the first round of negotiations on the local transport collective agreement for Saxony, which failed to produce any results. Verdi accuses the employers of demanding a deterioration in working conditions, including an extension of working hours without wage compensation and cuts to vacations, bonuses, sick pay and performance-related pay.

"This behavior by the employers is more than a provocation: it is a frontal attack on their own employees," said Verdi negotiator Paul Schmidt. The current demands mean "not only a significant additional burden, but also a de facto pay cut".

What Verdi is demanding

The union is demanding, among other things, a reduction in the working week to 35 hours with full pay compensation, higher bonuses - especially for night work - an increase in annual bonuses and longer and reliable rest periods between shifts. Verdi is also demanding measures to relieve the burden on employees and secure jobs.