Strikes paralyze Cologne local transport: Verdi brings buses to a standstill!
Strikes paralyze Cologne local transport: Verdi brings buses to a standstill!
On Friday, February 7th, local public transport in Cologne will be affected by an all -day warning strike. Verdi called up to this strike, which begins at 3 a.m. and ends with the start of operation on Saturday, February 8th. This step takes place as part of a comprehensive tariff dispute in the public service in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), in which the union would like to put pressure on employers in order to enforce their demands for better working conditions. reports that all the city railways of the Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe (KVB) remain in the depots and many bus lines, especially lines 16 and 18 Bonn are operated.
A third of the bus routes in Cologne are served by subcontractors, so some lines continue to run. Nevertheless, a large number of bus connections are discontinued, which severely limits the mobility of the citizens. Passengers are encouraged to use the KVB website or the app to obtain current information on the availability of transport. This applies in particular to sporadically running bus lines such as 106, 118 and 120.
effects on mobility
The KVB has announced that it has entered the actual trips into its digital timetable information. In addition, the KVB customer service centers are closed on the strike day. The mobility guarantee in the event of delays or other irregularities does not apply on this day. RP online are not affected and will continue to run.
The Verdi union calls for the employees of local public transport for a salary increase of 8 percent or at least 350 euros more per month as well as three additional free days. These demands are the result of the first round of negotiations, which remained unsuccessful on January 24th. The next round of negotiation will take place in two weeks, from February 17th to 18th. WDR reports that the topics are also addressed in other cities such as Bonn and Mönchengladbach. The union will try to exert further pressure on employers who consider Verdi’s claims to be excessive and refer to empty public health insurance funds.
strike and traffic situation in NRW
In addition to Cologne, other cities such as Bonn, Krefeld and the Rhein-Sieg district are also affected for the strike day. Verdi regional district manager Gabriele Schmidt emphasizes the need to increase the pressure on employers, since "warm words alone are not sufficient". Traffic expert Roman Suthold from ADAC expects that the massive failure in public transport will also increase the traffic jam and traffic situation on the streets of NRW, since commuters who rely on public transport will increasingly switch to their cars. Therefore, he also recommends working in the home office on Friday.The warning strike in Cologne and other cities not only poses great challenges the mobility of commuters, but also raises questions about the working conditions of the public service employees who are increasingly under pressure due to stagnating wages and high workload.
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