(The following report appeared at CNN.com on November 15.)
BERLIN, Germany — A three-day strike by a German train drivers’ union halted travel across the country Thursday as the workers extended the action to include passenger trains.
With most train services stopped on the tracks, commuters squeezed into local trams and buses or used their cars instead, leading to traffic jams. Deutsche Bahn, which runs Germany’s railways, arranged 500 extra buses to run as a replacement service.
The departures board at Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof, the main train station, displayed long delays or no service at all. Deutsche Bahn said two-thirds of long-distance high-speed trains were operating along with 50 percent of regional services.
The 30,000-member GDL train drivers’ union began the strike Wednesday, demanding Deutsche Bahn give them a separate wage deal from the other two train unions and a pay rise of 31 percent. GDL, which represents 10 percent of Deutsche Bahn staff, complains its pay and benefits do not compare with those for other rail workers in Europe.
Deutsche Bahn has refused to agree to a separate deal, saying the other two unions — which include some train drivers — are pleased with a 4.5 percent pay rise recently given to all of DB’s employees.
GDL’s dispute has lasted for seven months and the strike is the sixth in recent months, but this week’s walkout is the biggest so far. The strikes began with freight trains Wednesday and extended to include passenger trains Thursday, and the union promised more, open-ended strikes next if its demands aren’t met.
Advance warning of the strike meant most commuters were prepared to make other travel arrangements Thursday, but it appeared the labor dispute was starting to irritate the public. The headline in the Berlin tabloid BZ read, “Train drivers, you’re striking on our nerves!”
A recent poll by German broadcaster ZDF, however, indicated public sympathy for the train drivers, with 57 percent of those polled saying the strike was justified. Thirty-five percent of respondents said the stalemate was the fault of Deutsche Bahn, 17 percent blamed the union, and 44 percent assigned equal blame.
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The strike halted production at an Audi plant in Brussels because two trains carrying parts from Slovakia were unable to complete the trip, Audi spokesman Graeme Lisle said. He said it affected production of only 200 cars and that work at the plant would resume Monday.
Economists have said if the strike lasts longer than three days, it could cost around €50 million ($73 million) a day.