The Wien Mitte train station in Vienna, Austria
Rail traffic in Austria will come to a standstill Monday as rail workers stage a 24-hour strike, the Österreichische Bundesbahnen, or Austrian Federal Railways, said late Sunday.
The vida transport workers’ union has called for a 24-hour warning strike to start on Monday, following five rounds of negotiation.
The ÖBB is the national railway system of Austria as well as the administrator of Liechtenstein’s railways.
“After more than 12 hours of intensive talks, the [two sides] unfortunately did not manage to come to an agreement,” the ÖBB said in a statement.
The strike will affect night trains and cross-border traffic. Austria lies between eight countries including Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic, and is an important hub for European rail service.
The ÖBB warned that “individual train cancellations” could take place Sunday evening and Tuesday morning as well.
Vida, which represents approximately 50,000 railway workers, has demanded an across-the-board increase of €400 ($415.11), which the union said would be an approximate increase of 12%.
The Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, the country’s chamber of commerce, said it had offered an increase of a little over 8%.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
