BERLIN
\nGerman transport union EVG on Wednesday had announced a rail strike as workers demand higher wages to cope with high rates of inflation, the latest industrial action in Europe\u2019s largest economy.
\nRail workers across the country will walk out on Friday between 3:00 am (0100 GMT) and 11:00 am, the EVG said in a statement. The short \u201cwarning strike\u201d was intended to \u201cencourage employers to bring reasonable offers\u201d to pay talks, EVG\u2019s deputy chairwoman Cosima Ingenschay told journalists outside Berlin\u2019s main station.
\n\u201cIf that does not happen then we will have to think about even bigger strikes,\u201d she said.
\nThe industrial action will heap on more transport woes for travellers. Separately, Germany\u2019s second largest union Verdi had on Tuesday called on employees working in security at the airports in Duesseldorf, Cologne-Bonn and Hamburg to strike through Thursday and Friday.
\nEVG represents 230,000 workers across some 50 transport companies, including national rail operator Deutsche Bahn.
\nThe industrial action would have a \u201cmassive\u201d impact across the rail network, Deutsche Bahn said in a statement, with the repercussions likely to be felt most strongly in long-distance services.
\nThe strike was \u201ccompletely useless, completely unnecessary\u201d, Deutsche Bahn\u2019s human resources chief Martin Seiler told journalists.
\nThe disruption to services would affect \u201chundreds of thousands\u201d of commuters ahead of the weekend, Seiler said, accusing EVG of losing all \u201cproportion\u201d.
\n\u201cIt is now about finding solutions at the negotiating table and not just wantonly announcing strikes,\u201d Seiler said.
\nNegotiations between the EVG and Deutsche Bahn will continue next week.
\nEVG is demanding a 12-percent pay rise over one year for the workers it represents, with a minimum increase of 650 euros ($712) a month.
\nThe union rejected Deutsche Bahn\u2019s first offer of a five percent increase in two steps, covering 27 months, plus an \u201cinflation bonus\u201d of 2,500 euros. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BERLIN German transport union EVG on Wednesday had announced a rail strike as workers demand higher wages to cope with high rates of inflation, the latest industrial action in Europe\u2019s largest economy. Rail workers across the country will walk out on Friday between 3:00 am (0100 GMT) and 11:00 am, the EVG said in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326945,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-326933","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n