Behind the strike is the union EVG, which represents many employees in train traffic, together with the union Verdi, which in turn represents employees at airports, at ports and in local transport throughout the country. In all, around 350,000 people are called for a one-day strike on Monday, according to the unions.
"The strike will have a massive effect. We are aware of this and it is necessary," Verdi President Frank Werneke said when the initiative was unveiled on Thursday.
Wants salary increases above 10 percent
The reason for the strike is ongoing wage negotiations between unions and employers. To match the high inflation, Verdi has demanded increases of 10.5 percent for its members, while EVG demands 12 percent. Employers' bids are 5 percent plus a lump sum.
"We are a group that literally moves this country forward and is paid far too poorly to do so," Werneke told German Deutsche welle.
In February, the annual inflation rate in Germany was measured at 8.7 percent, the AP writes.
'Unnecessary and disproportionate'
The consequences of the strike are expected to be extensive in virtually all modes of transport. Frankfurt Airport, which is Germany's busiest, writes on Twitter that it will cancel all scheduled passenger services.
Train company Deutsche bahn, in turn, has suspended all long-distance services on Monday and is urging passengers to reschedule their journeys. The company's chief human resources officer describes the strike as "excessive and unnecessary."
"Basically nothing will be possible in train traffic on Monday," Seiler says.
The strike is described as the largest in Germany in over 30 years, but it's not the first time transport workers have resorted to the tool. Also in February, German train and air traffic stopped after Verdi members went on strike.