LOCAL buses, subway trains and trams ground to a halt in much of Germany today at the peak of a week of walkouts by workers demanding better working conditions.

The Ver.di service workers’ union called for a week of strikes lasting from Monday to Saturday. 

The union is being backed by the Fridays for Future climate activist group, which called on supporters to take to the streets for “good work and climate-friendly mobility.”

The dispute centres on demands for better working conditions, such as a shorter working week and extra compensation days for night work.

Bavaria, where there are no negotiations at present, has been the only region not affected. An agreement between the union and employers in the small western state of Saarland was reached earlier this week.

There may be more transport strikes in Germany due to a separate, long-running dispute between train drivers union Union of German Train Drivers (GDL) and the country’s main railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, over a cut in the working week to 35 hours without loss of pay.

Deutsche Bahn walked away from the latest round of talks on Thursday.

GDL said that it would not comment on its next steps until a news conference scheduled for Monday.