Bild- Germany prepares for its largest strike in decades

The country is set to be "paralyzed" on Monday as public transport workers protest for wage increases, potentially leaving the 83-million-strong nation in a state of "traffic chaos". The largest nationwide strike in decades has been organized by several powerful trade unions, and long-distance train services of the German national railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, will be completely halted. Regional train services will be drastically reduced, while short-distance city rail, known in Germany as the S-Bahn, will also not be in operation. All bus, train and tram traffic will likely be brought to a standstill by expected general strikes in six German states – Baden-Wuerttemberg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate, with parts of Bavaria also likely to be affected. The country's airport association, ADV, has estimated that 380,000 travelers will be unable to fly on Monday due to the strike, which comes ahead of the Easter holidays in Germany.

Stern warned of traffic chaos on highways, while Bild called it the worst strike in 31 years. The strike is the result of demands for wage hikes issued by several major trade unions. Verdi, the public services union, seeks a pay rise of 10.5%, but no less than €500 for some 2.5 million public employees. EVG, the railway and transport union, demands a 12% wage increase but no more than €650. The unions blame inflation and rising commodity prices for the crisis.

Verdi's head, Frank Werneke, argued that a "sufficiently high" minimum wage is required for employees with low to middle incomes to successfully weather the effects of price hikes. Germany, along with other EU states, encountered economic difficulties last year due to Ukraine-related sanctions and the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline. The Ifo Institute for Economic Research warned that Germany could face a recession in 2023.