- Senegal set to announce breakaway development agenda: PM
- UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions
- Injury-hit Australia thrash 'embarrassing' Pakistan at Women's T20 World Cup
- Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
- Israel says fired at 'immediate threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- New US coach Pochettino hails Pulisic but worries over workload
- Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites
- UK govt urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon's case with China
- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Djokovic 'overwhelmed' after 'greatest rival' Nadal's retirement
- Zelensky in Berlin says hopes war with Russia will end next year
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Djokovic proves staying power as progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Hurricane Milton leaves at least 16 dead as Florida cleans up
- Britain face 'ultimate challenge' in America's Cup duel with New Zealand
- Lebanon calls for 'immediate' ceasefire in Israel-Hezbollah war
- Nihon Hidankyo: Japan's A-bomb survivors awarded Nobel
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Boat captain rescued clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico after storm Milton
- Tears, warnings after Japan atomic survivors group win Nobel
- 'Unspeakable horror': the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- Christian villagers 'trapped' in south Lebanon crossfire
- Sabalenka sets up Gauff showdown in Wuhan semis
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Kim Sei-young holds lead with late birdies at LPGA Shanghai
- Toulouse welcome Dupont 'boost' as Olympic star returns to Top 14
- Japanese atomic bomb survivor group Nihon Hidankyo wins Nobel Peace Prize
- Deadly Israeli strike on Beirut likely targeted Hezbollah security chief
- Bangladesh Islamist chief backs crimes against humanity trial for ex-PM
- Everest climber's remains believed found after 100 years
- 20 Pakistan coal miners shot dead in attack
- Clashes on South China Sea, Ukraine dominate Asia summit
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Zelensky meets Pope, Scholz as whirlwind Europe tour ends
- Hello Hallyu: why is South Korean culture sweeping the globe?
- UK economy rebounds in August in boost to new govt
- Voice of Japan's beloved robot cat 'Doraemon' dies
RIO | 0.67% | 67.293 | $ | |
BTI | 0.21% | 35.185 | $ | |
BP | -0.48% | 32.185 | $ | |
GSK | -1.15% | 38.765 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.32% | 24.67 | $ | |
RBGPF | -1.03% | 59.49 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.6% | 24.919 | $ | |
RYCEF | 1.71% | 7 | $ | |
AZN | 0.43% | 77.205 | $ | |
NGG | 0.88% | 66.26 | $ | |
SCS | 2.06% | 12.865 | $ | |
RELX | 1.04% | 46.845 | $ | |
VOD | -1.03% | 9.641 | $ | |
JRI | 0.3% | 13.26 | $ | |
BCC | 1.77% | 141.459 | $ | |
BCE | 0.56% | 33.045 | $ |
Germany braces for fresh rail, air travel strikes
Germany braced for more travel misery after unions on Monday called for renewed walkouts at Lufthansa and rail operator Deutsche Bahn, amid escalating rows over inflation-busting pay rises.
Lufthansa ground staff will stage a two-day strike from Thursday, the powerful Verdi union announced, accusing management at the airline group of showing "no willingness" to come up with an improved offer.
The stoppage would impact passenger services from 0300 GMT on Thursday until 0610 GMT on Saturday, Verdi said.
Some 200,000 air travellers would be affected, Lufthansa warned.
The strike call comes less than a week after ground staff at Lufthansa's technical support and aviation training units downed tools. That walkout, however, did not affect passenger travel.
A one-day strike by Lufthansa ground staff in Germany last month already affected some 100,000 passengers, with between 80 and 90 percent of the airline's commercial flights grounded.
Verdi's chief negotiator Marvin Reschinsky said it was "regrettable" that passengers would again see their travel plans disrupted.
"By ignoring our request to negotiate, Lufthansa is telling us that it will only move when the pressure increases further," he said.
Verdi is seeking pay rises of 12.5 percent for the workers it represents, or a minimum of 500 euros ($542) more a month.
Lufthansa has offered pay increases over an extended period but not enough to meet Verdi's demands, the union has said.
The airline's human resources chief Michael Niggemann said Lufthansa had repeatedly improved its offer and accused Verdi of "deliberately seeking escalation instead of a solution".
The next round of negotiations will take place on March 13 and 14.
Germany, Europe's largest economy, has been hit by a spate of strikes across varying sectors in recent months, including transport, the civil service and supermarkets.
Pinched by inflation over the last years and in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, workers are demanding higher wages to cope with shrinking purchasing power.
The GDL train drivers union added to the tensions on Monday by announcing a strike wave after negotiations with Deutsche Bahn over higher pay and a shorter work week broke down.
Talks with management "have failed", GDL boss Claus Weselsky told a press conference.
The first strike would last for 35 hours and begin at 1700 GMT on Wednesday for cargo services and at 0100 GMT on Thursday for passenger rail, he added.
- 'Stubborn and selfish' -
The GDL union is pushing for a salary hike to help train drivers cope with higher living costs, despite also demanding a reduced working week of 35 hours, down from 38 hours.
Deutsche Bahn says it has made concessions amounting to up to 13 percent more pay, as well as the option of cutting the work week by one hour from 2026.
"The first strike will last for 35 hours so everyone in the country can feel what we are talking about," Weselsky said, adding that further strikes would follow.
"We are starting a so-called wave of strikes," he said, which will be announced "when we think the time is right" and no longer 48 hours in advance as has been the case in the past.
As a result, "rail is no longer a reliable means of transport", he added.
Deutsche Bahn's human resources director Martin Seiler sharply condemned the union's announcement, accusing GDL of "stubbornly and selfishly" insisting on its maximum demands even though these were "unachievable".
Warning the situation was becoming "more unpredictable for everyone", he urged the union to return "to the negotiating table and look for solutions".
A multi-day walkout by train drivers in January caused travel disruption for thousands of passengers and heaped pressure on supply chains already strained by tensions in the Middle East.
Deutsche Bahn estimates that each strike day costs the German economy "a low two-digit million figure".
O.Karlsson--AMWN