New German rail strike causes chaos
FRANKFURT (AFP) — A third German train drivers' strike in the space of a fortnight caused fresh havoc Thursday although the union ruled out continuing their action on Friday, the national railway Deutsche Bahn said.
Regional lines in the eastern states and the western cities of Frankfurt and Munich were hit, while those in the northern cities of Hamburg and Berlin ran on a sharply reduced schedule.
Road traffic was noticeably heavier than usual in and around major cities as commuters sought alternative ways to get to work.
Several thousand train drivers and conductors followed the GDL union's call to strike from 2:00 am to 11:00 am (0000-0900 GMT) to press for a collective bargaining agreement and more pay, a union spokeswoman said.
Although the union called off a planned follow-up strike on Friday, it did not rule out more stoppages next week if a solution to the three-month dispute cannot be found.
Ten million people use the train each day in Germany, the highest number in Europe.
GDL wants pay increases of up to 31 percent and a separate contract from other rail workers.
Deutsche Bahn has refused to negotiate separately, but has offered a better deal than one agreed earlier this year with the Transnet and GDBA unions.
Freight and long-distance routes were unaffected on Thursday, because a German court has ruled them off-limits owing to the potential economic impact.
Deutsche Bahn accused the union of endangering the jobs of its own members with its strikes.
Public support for the drivers' cause was evaporating -- 55 percent want the strikes to stop, according to a survey for Friday's Bild newspaper, compared to a small majority in favour a few weeks ago.
There was also criticism of GDL leader Manfred Schell, who has taken a three-week break at Lake Constance on the German-Swiss border because of health concerns as the dispute rumbles on.
"If you want to fight, then fight properly and actually be there," Karl-Peter Naumann, the head of passengers' pressure group ProBahn, told Bild newspaper.
Such industrial action used to be rare in a country where unions and companies normally work to reach agreements that keep the eurozone's biggest economy humming while providing workers with a high level of job protection.
Neighbouring France was also hit by a transport strike on Thursday as unions put President Nicolas Sarkozy's reform plans to the test with a 24-hour stoppage in defence of pensions privileges.
