New German rail strike sows more chaos for 10 mln passengers |
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Thu, 18 Oct 2007 09:17
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FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - A third German train drivers' strike caused fresh havoc Thursday, particularly in eastern parts of the country, the national railway Deutsche Bahn said.Regional lines in the eastern states and the western cities of Frankfurt and Munich were hard hit, while those in the northern cities of Hamburg and Berlin were running on a sharply reduced schedule.'The strikes are off to a good start,' said Gerda Seibert, spokeswoman for the GDL union, which called on members to walk off the job from 2:00 am to 11:00 am (0000-0900 GMT) to press for a collective bargaining agreement and more pay.'Several thousand train drivers and conductors are on strike,' Seibert said.More strikes could follow on Friday and next week if a deal is not found, disrupting service to 10 mln people who use the train each day in Germany, the highest level in Europe.It was the third day of strikes in two weeks by GDL members, who want pay increases of up to 31 pct and a separate contract from other rail workers.Deutsche Bahn has refused to negotiate separately while offering a better deal than one agreed earlier this year with the Transnet and GDBA unions.The railway did not implement replacement services as it had last Friday, saying it was not given enough time since the strike call was issued on Wednesday.Freight and long-distance routes were not affected however, because a German court has ruled them off limits owing to the potential economic impact.tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.comafp/akCOPYRIGHTCopyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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Deutsche Bahn says strike disrupts commuter traffic across Germany UPDATE 