From Deutsche Welle (link to original article)
Deutsche Bahn's website doesn't have much info on there at the moment, just a notice to keep checking their website or app and more details will be posted.
Hopefully this won't be an extended disruptive dispute like the drivers strike which affected DB in 2014/15.
Rail passengers in Germany have been warned to expect cancellations and delays on Monday after pay talks between the country's main railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the EVG rail trade union broke down without agreement.
Union officials told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) news agency that their members would stage a walkout on Monday morning lasting until at least midday. Further so-called warning strikes can be expected during the pre-Christmas rush, they warned.
The strike by track and repair workers was expected to cause widespread disruption to the rail network across Germany and will take effect just a day after DB increased the price of rail tickets by an average of 1.9 percent
EVG, which represents some 160,000 rail workers, blamed DB bosses for the breakdown of talks early on Saturday morning in Hamburg, insisting the new pay scale offered by the rail firm was too low. The rail firm, meanwhile, called the walkout a "totally unnecessary escalation."
It is unclear how many of EVG's 136,000 members will take part in Monday's strike action
"Leaving the negotiating table is incomprehensible and is unnecessarily unsettling for our customers in the middle of the Christmas season," explained DB's personnel director Martin Seiler.
DB says it offered staff a total pay increase of 5.1 percent in two increments and a one-time payment of 500 euros. Workers would also be able to take more holiday days in lieu of the second increment, and DB also agreed to increase the employer's contribution to the company pension scheme by 1.1 percent.
EVG said it was holding out for an extra percentage point in salary hike, and union officials would only return to negotiations once DB makes clear it is willing to increase its offer.
The Union of German Locomotive Drivers (GDL) is expected to continue its parallel talks with DB on Tuesday but warned that its 36,000 members could also take action if wage negotiations talks fail.
Monday's strike is likely to cause widespread disapproval among rail passengers, who regularly complain about cancellations and the lateness of trains, and endure some of the highest rail ticket prices in Europe.
Deutsche Bahn's website doesn't have much info on there at the moment, just a notice to keep checking their website or app and more details will be posted.
Hopefully this won't be an extended disruptive dispute like the drivers strike which affected DB in 2014/15.