Second rail strike in a week underway across Germany

Feb 25, 2011, 8:37 GMT

Frankfurt - German train drivers on Friday began their second strike in a week, which was expected to cause serious rail disruptions across the country.

The three-hour strike, by train drivers' union GDL, began at 8:30am (0730 GMT) and targeted the metropolitan Rhine-Main region in the west of the country, as well as the cities of Stuttgart and Hamburg.

Knock-on delays were expected across the country, throughout the rest of the day.

Regional rail services in Berlin, which are already hampered by technical problems, were exempted from Friday's industrial action.

The strikers are demanding that rail companies accept a nationwide collective labour contract for 26,000 drivers, whichever rail company they work for.

Currently unions negotiate separately with state-owned Deutsche Bahn and with commercial rail operators. Most commercial operators pay drivers less than Deutsche Bahn does.

An initial two-hour strike on Tuesday morning caused major disruption. The union is advancing towards an all-out strike from March 7, when a strike ballot of the 26,000 drivers is to be counted.

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