Before the big warning strike day in public transport in Germany, Germany's employers accuse the unions of excessive action. "Anyone who acts in this way is acting disproportionately and endangering the acceptance of the right to strike," said Steffen Kampeter, chief executive of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA). The head of the railway union EVG, Martin Burkert, defended the joint warning strike with Verdi and stressed that the right to strike should be handled responsibly: "No, we are not exaggerating."

On Monday, traffic is to be comprehensively paralyzed. The unprecedented warning strike includes long-distance, regional and S-Bahn traffic by rail, municipal transport at many German airports, waterways and ports as well as motorways. The railway and transport union (EVG) and Verdi are fighting for more income in different collective bargaining rounds.

Freight forwarders and retailers are demanding more flexibility for transports as early as weekends. The chief executive of the trade association HDE, Stefan Genth, said: "Compared to the sometimes dramatic situation at the beginning of the pandemic, the effects of the upcoming strike are a manageable challenge."

Nevertheless, it would make sense to lift the Sunday driving ban for this weekend and allow logistics to bring forward some transports. The logistics industry warned of a "supply chaos" and also called in "Bild" for the lifting of the truck driving ban on Sunday.

What about the tunnels?

In addition to Deutsche Bahn, local transport and airports, road traffic is also affected for the first time. In Hamburg, the Elbe tunnel will be closed from Friday evening (19 pm). The background is work on the motorway and, above all, the demolition of a bridge. The A7 will be fully closed until Monday at 5 a.m. between the junctions Hamburg-Heimfeld and Hamburg-Volkspark in both directions, as the Autobahn GmbH Nord announced.

The federal motorway company is also on strike. What effects this will have in concrete terms has recently been unclear. However, the Verdi union indicated that tunnels could possibly be closed. This was contradicted by the motorway company. There is also talk of an emergency operation, which is to be maintained. For example, tunnels in Brandenburg could be closed in some places. In Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, the tunnel centres and master workshops were said to be able to work. Most tunnels on motorways and federal highways are in Baden-Württemberg with more than 80 tunnels. There, an emergency service agreement was announced for Monday.

"The unions should be careful not to overrun"

The airline association Barig criticized the actions of the unions as "irresponsible". Lufthansa passengers will have to prepare for significant cancellations as early as Sunday. At Munich Airport, no Lufthansa flights will take place on that day – apart from humanitarian flights, as the airline announced. In addition, Germany's largest airport Frankfurt will be on Monday.

The President of the Association of Municipal Employers' Associations, Karin Welge, called on the trade unions to send constructive signals for the third round of collective bargaining in the public sector of the municipalities and the federal government, which begins on Monday – in addition to the wage talks at Deutsche Bahn, this is a decisive background for the warning strikes. "The unions should be careful not to overrun," Welge said.