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Status: 16.10.2020 00:15 am
The subway and buses failed in Hamburg on Thursday. The ver.di union had paralyzed local public transport at midnight.
Hamburg’s metro and bus stations have been empty since morning, as is often the case at night. There are no trains, no buses and almost no customer who has not been warned. Hundreds of thousands of passengers had to find other modes of transportation, such as cars or bicycles. Or they had to, as far as possible, switch to the S-Bahn, regional trains, AKN, and Hadag ferries, because they weren’t hit. However, there was no great chaos. The ver.di union came to a positive conclusion during the day.
VIDEO: Warning strike in Hamburg: no chaos (1 min)
Natale Fontana, head of the department, said it was possible to shut down all bus and subway traffic. by ver.di. In fact, only one bus left the Hamburg station. From the union’s point of view, local transport workers deserve more attention, more money and shorter shifts.
Union defends strike despite pandemic
Regarding the question of whether a warning strike amid the corona pandemic is appropriate if commuters could become infected in the overcrowded S-Bahn, which is still running, Sieglinde Frieß, deputy regional district manager at ver.di He said: “You will understand that we are I have to press even at that time.” The moment of the strike is due to the side of the employers, which is responsible for it.
AUDIO: Comment: Strike in the days of Corona damages sympathy (2 min)
“Fridays for Future” Welcomes Warning Strike
The “Fridays for Future” climate movement welcomed the warning strike. Better working conditions on buses and trains served to protect the climate. However, car traffic increased on Thursday.
Strike also with VHH buses
Due to the 24-hour warning strike, the Hamburg bus station is full to the last seat.
Bus drivers for the Verkehrsgesellschaft Hamburg-Holstein (VHH), which operates a third of HVV bus routes, also went on strike. They ended their warning strike on Thursday afternoon. This also affected the south of Schleswig-Holstein, because the VHH is also on the road with its buses in the districts of Pinneberg, Segeberg, Stormarn and Duchy-Lauenburg.
Typically 2.6 million customers on the go
According to information from the Hamburg Transport Association, 2.6 million customers are typically away from home on weekdays. But it’s the fall break and many also work from home.
Hochbahn and VHH criticisms
Underground traffic was also affected by the warning strike.
The elevated railway had previously expressed concern for its hundreds of thousands of passengers. It was feared that the strike could have massive effects. Ironically, in the worsening pandemic of the crown, the union wants to largely paralyze local transport in Hamburg. “From our point of view, passengers should not be held hostage for national campaigns,” said Claudia Güsken, a member of the Hochbahn board. The VHH also described the ver.di union’s short-term strike call as incomprehensible. A second negotiation date for the company’s collective agreement has already been agreed.
Hochbahn: No connection to the collective bargaining dispute in the public service
The Hamburger Hochbahn deals with the company’s collective agreement. The ver.di union wants attention to be paid to the war waged at the national level in the public service. And something else annoys the Hochbahn: Ver.di justified the warning strike with a delayed negotiation date. But that was agreed together. On October 29, negotiations should continue in a second round.
Verdi wants to continue negotiating
The Hochbahn critic emphatically rejected the trade unionist Fontana: “My call to the businessmen would be massive disarmament. If we continue like this: Do we have to draw up arms? Or can we reach an agreement at the negotiating table at some point?”
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