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Mainz (dpa / lrs) - Schoolchildren, commuters and other travelers in Rhineland-Palatinate have to prepare for significant restrictions in bus traffic: The Verdi union has called for a two-day warning strike in the wage dispute in the private bus industry. The strike should start this Thursday morning (6.5.) At 3 a.m. and last until the end of the shift on Friday evening, as the union announced on Wednesday. The call applies nationwide. The union assumes that of the 5500 employees, around 3500 drivers will take part in the warning strike.
Verdi expects that large parts of the country will be affected by the strike measures, including school traffic and overland traffic. Which lines on site will be affected in detail cannot be said in detail, explained Verdi. According to the information, all operations and locations of DB Regio Bus Mitte and DB Regio Bus Rhein-Mosel will participate. Since, for example, DB Regio Bus Mitte has also taken over trips for the local transport company in Mainz, there will also be effects on urban bus traffic. Because of the pandemic, there will be no gatherings in front of the factories.
The union has announced further warning strikes for May 12th, 17th and 18th, if employers do not give in by then.
"And if we don't have a final result by June 21st, our colleagues are willing to go on a permanent strike," announced Marko Bärschneider, who heads the labor dispute for the union.
In the collective bargaining dispute, Verdi is demanding through payment of idle times and travel time interruptions, a 13th month salary as well as higher surcharges and higher vacation pay.
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The union asked students, parents and passengers to understand the warning strike in the middle of the corona pandemic.
"We have no other instrument to force employers to talk to us," said Jürgen Jung from Verdi.
According to Verdi, the work situation is untenable for many drivers.
The downtimes would not be paid for.
In addition, many employees suffered from having to park their buses in places where there are no toilets, for example.
The employers rejected the claims as excessive.
"Verdi's demands with wage increases in the clear double-digit range come at an inopportune time," said Heiko Nagel, managing director of the Association of Employers' Associations of the Transport Industry (VAV).
The companies were still waiting for the compensation promised by the state for the increases in the collective bargaining agreement last summer via their own “Rhineland-Palatinate Index”.
"As long as the companies do not have a binding knowledge of how the index will go on, it is impossible to negotiate," said Nagel.
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The managing director of the umbrella organization for mobility and logistics (MOLO), Guido Borning, explained that the problem for the bus companies is that they cannot increase their prices in the short term in order to absorb additional expenses through tariff increases.
The contracts would be concluded with the public sector and would run for several years.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210505-99-481281 / 2