With Germany gearing up for landmark elections on Sunday, Berlin’s iconic yellow U-Bahn carriages have remained at a standstill – along with trams and most buses. Unlike in France, where transport strikes are almost routine, German workers rarely take to the picket lines. So why are Berliners striking and will their efforts pay off?
"We are on strike, because we want to earn more money," says Claudia Kitz, a Berlin tramdriver.
Kitz, and hundreds other transport workers are gathered under the shadow of Berlin's iconic television tower. A loud band and sausages keep the spirits up.
"We earn less than any other drivers in the whole of Germany," she says, telling RFI that she earns "less than €2,000 per month."
Public transport systems in six German länder have come to a standstill with some 53,000 transport workers taking part in strike action.
The organising union Ver.di said in a statement published this Friday, that "striking is a fundamental right," stressing that freelancers have the right to strike as well, and employers are "forbidden" to take measures against people participating in industrial action.
Ver.di wants a pay rise of €350 per month, as well as three additional days of paid leave.
The strikes coincide with a transport shutdown in the German capital Berlin, organised by labour unions associated with the Berlin Transport Company BGV, which lasted 48 hours until this Saturday morning.
Kitz doesn't think the elections will do much change to her situation. "These are national elections. It is another level," she says, but adds that she's "hopeful" that the transport workers' demands will meet with some success.
"We are connected with other public services, and that's why I am hopeful that we will reach our aim," adding that those in power "have to accept that the prices in Berlin are higher.
"We have to say something. Not only for the people who people who work with us now, but also for people who want to work with us next year and after. They need the money if we want them to come to us.
Asked about his French collegues, Silan – a bus driver – says that he "admires the French".
According to the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) which measures average days not worked due to industrial action per 1,000 employees, France tops the list with an average of over 77 days from the period 2020 to 2023, while German strikers only scored just under 21 days.
"They strike good ... they strike in the right way. Not us, unfortunately," he says.
But according to Gernot Wolfer, a retired metal worker who is active in the splinter Marxistisch-Leninistische Party Germany (MLPD) – himself a staunch labour organiser – the low appetite for strikes in Germany may be caused by a relatively high percentage of unionised workers.
German labour statistics show that some 15 percent of German workers are unionised, against just more than 10 percent in France, as cited by Eurofound, an EU agency that monitors labour relations.
"In France, there's more room for spontaneous strikes," Wolfer maintains.
Although strikes are rarer in Germany, Wolfer admits that if they happen, "they are very big".
His own union, connected to industry giant IG-Metal "has two million people. That is a very strong force".
The strikes come to an end this Saturday, just in time for Berliners to use public transport and attend several demonstrations planned in the German capital, where adherents of the different political parties want to give a last push to convince voters to cast their ballots for their cause.
The German transport strikes may not be over, however, as unions may call for more disruption ahead of a second round of negotiations mid-March unless an agreement is reached before then.
