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BERLIN - German commuters face major disruptions for the second time in a week on Thursday as train drivers strike again to back pay demands.
At 2am (1pm, NZT) drivers' union GDL will begin walkouts on regional services across Germany, intensifying a dispute with rail operator Deutsche Bahn that has gone on for months. The strike is due to end at 11am (10pm, NZT).
Deutsche Bahn made the drivers a fifth pay offer on Monday, including a one-off payment of 2000 euros ($3873) and a raise in monthly wages of up to 10 per cent, but the GDL rejected this.
Margret Suckale, Deutsche Bahn's head of personnel, said on Wednesday public support for GDL's position was running out.
"For weeks it has brushed each new offer off the table," she said. "Nobody can sympathise with this any more."
Deutsche Bahn, which the government wants to partly privatise by 2009, is Europe's largest rail and transport firm. It serves more than 5 million passengers daily on 28,000 trains.
- REUTERS
