($1 = 0.9118 euros) (Writing by Rachel More, Editing by Friederike Heine and John Stonestreet)
BERLIN, April 21 (Reuters) - Rail workers went on strike
across Germany on Friday, bringing national operator Deutsche
Bahn's services largely to a halt, in the latest of a
series of stoppages over pay in Europe's largest economy.
The walkout, organised by the EVG union, was due to run from
3 a.m. (0100 GMT) to 11 a.m, though the train network was
expected to be impacted for the whole day.
State-owned Deutsche Bahn said all its long-distance
connections would be cancelled until 1 p.m. and that few
commuter trains would run.
The EVG, which is negotiating on behalf of 230,000 workers,
is seeking a 12% wage increase, or at least an additional 650
euros ($715) per month. Deutsche Bahn has offered 5% and one-off
payments of up to 2,500 euros.
Germany has witnessed some of its most disruptive strikes in
decades since last year, when the war in Ukraine sent energy and
food prices soaring, leading to union pressure for wages to rise
in line with living costs.
High inflation has also exacerbated labour problems in
sectors like aviation that have faced a difficult transition
following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Friday's transport strike was set to coincide with a walkout
at four German airports - Duesseldorf, Hamburg, Cologne Bonn and
Stuttgart - by members of the Verdi union.
A strike at the first three locations on Thursday led to
around 700 departures being cancelled.
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