A four-day rail strike in Germany has entered its second day after a court dismissed a last-ditch attempt by state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn to halt the nationwide action.
The strike action, started yesterday by the 20,000-member GDL union, has hit intercity and regional services across Germany.
It could run until early on Monday after it was ruled by a German court that it “did not violate law” and “is not out of proportion”.
The GDL drivers’ union is accusing the railway of denying it the right to negotiate for 17,000 train stewards. It wants a 5 per cent pay rise and the working week cut from 39 to 37 hours.
An estimated 30 per cent of long-distance trains ran on Thursday (November 6), while a limited S-Bahn service was also running on the first day of strike action. In some eastern areas, only 15 per cent of trains were running, while the number was higher in southern states such as Bavaria.
In other areas such as South Bavaria, regional services were barely affected because they are operated privately or by a subsidiary.
"Strikes have major impacts and cause major damage," labour court judge Ursula Schmidt, told Reuters shortly before midnight on Thursday after six hours of deliberations. "But that's what strikes are all about."
Deutsche Bahn is appealing the decision, which is estimated to cost the German economy up to 100 million Euros a day.