Where are the next public transport strikes taking place in Germany?

Trade union Verdi has once again called for warning strikes in local transport in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, on February 15th, and in central Lower Saxony on Monday, February 20th and Tuesday the 21st.

At a national level, there's also the possibility of more strikes affecting all regional and long-distance transport once a "peace truce" comes to an end on March 3rd - and if demands of workers have not been met by then

The GDL drivers union and Deutsche Bahn paralysed train services amid two big nationwide strikes in January. Among GDL's core demands is a reduction to weekly working hours for shift workers from 38 to 35 hours with full wage compensation, a salary increase and an inflation payment - sticking points to which a compromise has not yet been found.

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Strike in NRW

With the actions in NRW, Verdi is upping the pressure ahead of the second round of collective bargaining for local public transport employees in Bochum on Friday.

Peter Büddicker, the chief negotiator for Verdi NRW, told DPA on Tuesday that he expected between 10,000 and 15,000 employees to be on strike. According to Verdi, local public transport companies in Düsseldorf, Cologne, Bonn, Dortmund, Bochum, Oberhausen, Münster and Bielefeld, among others, have been called on to down their tools in the push for better wages and working conditions.

Bernhard Langenbrinck from the North Rhine-Westphalia Municipal Employers' Association called the renewed warning strike "incomprehensible", saying that it only inconvenienced passengers.

Local public transport companies in NRW usually transport an estimated average of 2.5 million people every day.

"I assume that almost nothing will run," said Dirk Seibel, the trade unionist responsible for the Düsseldorf Rheinbahn, said.

While emergency timetables involving private subcontractors will be available, "I assume they will be of little use," said Seibel.

Lower Saxony strike

Passengers travelling on buses and trains in several cities in Lower Saxony will also have to look for alternatives next Monday and Tuesday.

 Public transport workers in Hanover, Braunschweig, Göttingen, Osnabrück and Wolfsburg have been called to down their tools for warning strike, a Verdi spokesperson DPA. According to the union, the cities affected are those in which the local transport collective agreement (TV-N) applies to employees.

There will be no regular services, but primary school buses will run, according to the plans.

Which transport companies are affected in North Rhine-Westphalia:

Verdi is calling these local public transport companies to strike:

• Duisburger Verkehrsgesellschaft (DVG)
• Rheinbahn AG Düsseldorf
• WSW mobil Wuppertal
• Stadtwerke Solingen
• Stadtwerke Remscheid
• Bahnen der Stadt Monheim
• Märkische Verkehrsgesellschaft Lüdenscheid (MVG)
• Verkehrsgesellschaft Ennepe-Ruhr: Ennepetal
• Hagener Straßenbahn AG
• Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe (KVB)
• Stadtwerke Bonn (SWB)
• Wupsi Leverkusen
• WestVerkehr Geilenkirchen
• Beteiligungsgesellschaft Kreis Düren (BTG)
• Niederrheinische Verkehrsbetriebe Moers (NIAG)
• SWK Krefeld
• NEW mobil und aktiv Mönchengladbach
• NEW mobil und aktiv Viersen
• Dortmunder Stadtwerke (DSW21)
• Vestische Straßenbahnen Herten
• Bochum-Gelsenkirchener Straßenbahnen (BOGESTRA)
• Ruhrbahn Essen
• Stadtwerke Oberhausen (STOAG)
• Straßenbahn Herne – Castrop-Rauxel (HCR)
• Stadtwerke und Verkehrsbetrieb Hamm
• Stadtwerke Gütersloh
• Stadtwerke Münster
• Rhein-Erft-Verkehrsgesellschaft Kerpen (REVG)
• moBiel Bielefeld