In large parts of Saxony, a three-day strike at regional transport companies began in the early hours of the morning. The trade union Verdi has called on employees at numerous companies to stop work until early Saturday morning. According to the union, the districts of Zwickau, Erzgebirge, Mittelsachsen, Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, Meißen, Bautzen and Görlitz as well as the cities of Dresden and Chemnitz are affected. The background to this is the collective bargaining in Saxony's local transport sector.
The municipal transport companies and the districts of North Saxony and Vogtland are excluded. In addition to higher pay, the union says it is demanding better regulations on working hours for shift work and more opportunities to take time off in lieu. After five inconclusive rounds of negotiations with the local transport employers' association (AVN), the union secretary responsible, Sven Vogel, believes that there is still a lack of a substantially improved offer. He criticized that the employers were operating within a rigid financial framework and were offsetting minor concessions against other demands.
