Rail travellers in Germany face an entire weekend of disruptions, cancellations and delays after the train drivers' union on Friday called their biggest strike since 2008.
The GDL union called on its members to walk out from 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) on Friday on freight services and from 2:00 am (0000 GMT) on Saturday on long-distance and regional passenger services.
The stoppages -- on traditionally one of the busiest weekends in the autumn because of a school holiday -- would last until 4:00 am (0200 GMT) on Monday, GDL said.
The union accused national rail operator Deutsche Bahn of stone-walling in talks over its demands for a five-percent wage hike and a shorter working week of 37 hours.
Deutsche Bahn slammed the new industrial action -- the fifth in recent weeks -- as excessive, accusing GDL chief Claus Weselsky of putting his own "delusions of omnipotence" and "thirst of power" before the interests of the train drivers and passengers.
"With its 50-hour strike on a holiday weekend, GDL and its chairman Claus Weselsky has lost all sense of proportion," the company said in a statement.
"GDL is running amok," it added, pointing out that the autumn school holidays began or ended this weekend for 11 of Germany's 16 regional states.
Deutsche Bahn pledged to "do everything to keep disruptions to a minimum" and said it would deploy additional staff at stations and on trains to ensure at least one-third of services will run.
On Wednesday, the operator had been forced to cancel 70 percent of long-distance services.
The magnitude of the industrial action was surprising in a country where warning strikes rarely last more than a day. The last time Deutsche Bahn was hit by an industrial dispute as serious as this was in 2007-2008.
Berlin is working on legislation to stop small groups of employees from paralysing large parts of the country's infrastructure, such as rail and air travel, after several airline strikes. A draft law is expected in November.
GDL accused management of issuing "nice-sounding statements with no substance".
The union also wants to represent other groups of employees within Deutsche Bahn, not just the drivers, but conductors, catering staff, dispatchers and other staff as well, a demand which management rejects.
"It's high time that DB accepts the facts," GDL said, claiming it represented 51 percent of the group's 37,000 employees.
In addition to the rail strikes, travellers in Germany have also been hit recently by repeated walkouts by pilots of airlines within the Lufthansa group.
This week, the pilots of Lufthansa's low-cost subsidiary Germanwings walked off the job for 12 hours on Wednesday, grounding hundreds of flights and thousands of passengers.
AFP
Fri Oct 17 2014
![German train drivers call biggest strike since 2008 German train drivers call biggest strike since 2008](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2014-10/71413558529_295x200.jpg)
Passengers walk along the platform during a strike of German train drivers Frankfurt, Germany on Wednesday. - AP Photo/Michael Probst
Jiwa SME: Kuih tradisonal sejuk beku 'diterbangkan' ke Tanah Suci
Inovasi pembuatan makanan sejuk beku, terutama kuih muih tradisional telah berjaya membawa produk itu ke peringkat global, terutama dalam memenuhi citarasa jemaah haji dan umrah rakyat Malaysia di Tanah Suci Mekah dan Madinah.
![Gol sulung Mbappe bantu Real Madrid juarai Piala Super UEFA Gol sulung Mbappe bantu Real Madrid juarai Piala Super UEFA](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/51723679998_KylianMbappe.jpg)
Gol sulung Mbappe bantu Real Madrid juarai Piala Super UEFA
"Ia adalah malam yang hebat. Ia adalah detik yang hebat untuk saya. Dan kami memenangi kejuaraan, yang penting - di Madrid anda perlu sentiasa menang."
![“I love you Am, bahagialah di syurga firdausi” - Aufahanie “I love you Am, bahagialah di syurga firdausi” - Aufahanie](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/51723679258_AufahanieNidzaAfh.jpg)
“I love you Am, bahagialah di syurga firdausi” - Aufahanie
Air mata Aufahanie sudah kering meratapi pemergian abang tercinta, Nidza Afham yang ditemui meninggal dunia selepas dilaporkan hilang.
Konsert jelajah: Taylor Swift teruskan konsert London selepas ancaman keganasan
Taylor Swift akan meneruskan persembahan di London pada Khamis, meneruskan jelajah konsert terbesar dunia di tengah-tengah kebimbangan keselamatan susulan cubaan serangan Daesh memaksa pembatalan tarikh konsert di Vienna, minggu lalu.
Taliban rai ulang tahun ketiga pemerintahan Afghanistan
Kerajaan Taliban semalam meraikan ulang tahun ketiga pemerintahannya di Afghanistan dengan perarakan tentera yang memberi penghormatan kepada bom buatan sendiri yang digunakan ketika peperangan, pesawat pejuang dan perbarisan pasukan keselamatan.
![Bapa bintang bola sepak Sepanyol, Lamine Yamal ditikam - Laporan Bapa bintang bola sepak Sepanyol, Lamine Yamal ditikam - Laporan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/61723677980_MounirNasraoui.jpg)
Bapa bintang bola sepak Sepanyol, Lamine Yamal ditikam - Laporan
Mounir Nasraoui, bapa kepada Lamine Yamal, ditikam pada lewat Rabu di tempat letak kereta di bandar Mataro di timur laut Sepanyol.
Warga AS dihukum penjara 15 hari di Rusia kerana bersikap samseng
Mahkamah Moscow menjatuhkan hukuman penjara 15 hari kepada warga Amerika Syarikat Joseph Tater pada Rabu kerana bersikap samseng.
Putin anggap rundingan dengan Ukraine tidak berguna
Presiden Rusia Vladimir Putin menyifatkan, tindakan Ukraine yang menyerang orang awam memperlihatkan keengganan Kyiv menyelesaikan konflik peperangan dua negara dengan cara perdamaian.
Fadillah tiba di Peru, hadiri mesyuarat menteri-menteri tenaga APEC 2024
Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof tiba Lima, Peru bagi menghadiri Mesyuarat Menteri-Menteri Tenaga (EMM) di bawah Kerjasama Ekonomi Asia Pasifik (APEC) yang berlangsung selama dua hari.
BNM denda Maybank RM4.32 juta, CIMB RM760,000 berikutan gangguan perkhidmatan berpanjangan
Bank Negara Malaysia mengenakan Penalti Monetari Pentadbiran (AMP) sebanyak RM4.32 juta ke atas Malayan Banking Bhd dan Maybank Islamic Bhd serta RM760,000 ke atas CIMB Bank Bhd dan CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd susulan gangguan beberapa perkhidmatan perbankan yang berpanjangan.