German commuter transport faces ‘standstill’ on Monday amid call for strike

FRANKFURT, Jan 30 (Reuters) – German bus and commuter rail services will likely ‍grind to a halt across the country as the main public services trade union called for an ‌almost nationwide strike ‌in a dispute with municipal and state employers over work conditions.

“It is safe to assume ​that public transport will come to a ‍standstill in the ​affected transport systems,” ​union Verdi said in a ‍statement on Friday, adding that close to 100,000 staff have been called on to walk out.

Verdi ‍is pushing for better working conditions in local public transport, ‍such ‍as reduced working hours, ​longer breaks and ​better ⁠pay for night ‌and weekend shifts.

In some regions, collective bargaining on overall pay is also ongoing.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, editing by ⁠Thomas Seythal)