Participants in a Ver.di demonstration walk through the city centre of Hanover, Germany, February 2, 2024
PUBLIC transport strikes brought buses, trams and even many aircraft to a standstill across most of Germany today.
The ver.di union called a “warning strike” as negotiations on pay and hours continue for about 90,000 transport workers, with those in different regions taking varying spells of strike action.
In Berlin, public transport was shuttered till 10am, while strikes lasted all day in Hamburg, Hannover and Cologne. The only German state not affected was Bavaria, where pay negotiations are not currently taking place.
Hundreds in Berlin gathered on January 15 to honour the US-born socialist who made East Germany his home. Florentine Morales Sandoval reports
The cancelled China trip of the German Foreign Minister marks a break with Helmut Schmidt’s China policy and drives Germany further into Washington’s confrontation course, warns SEVIM DAGDELEN
In part two of May’s Berlin Bulletin, VICTOR GROSSMAN, having assessed the policies of the new government, looks at how the opposition is faring