Rail workers organized in the Railway and Transport Union (EVG) in Germany have engaged in two short “warning strikes,” on March 27th and April 21st, in an effort to win their demand for a 12% wage increase phased in over the course of a year and meant to counteract high levels of inflation. That increase would mean the equivalent of an additional 650 euros or approximately 728 dollars per month. The EVG is the union that organizes rail workers employed by Deutsche Bahn, which is the state-owned national railway company in Germany.
Strike action in the country on March 27th also featured workers from the United Services Trade Union (Ver.di), which organizes security workers in airports across Germany and is also negotiating for improved pay. The combined effects of railway workers walking off the job and security workers in several airports across the country not reporting for work meant that these workers brought most of Germany to a standstill.
Negotiations for workers in both unions are ongoing, but this action by German workers shows the potential power workers have in order to win our demands!
