Germany:Germany was bracing itself last night for the largest rail strike in history.
For weeks, 34,000 train drivers have staged one-day strikes in passenger and freight transport.
Their union, GDL, is calling for a 30 per cent pay increase and a new pay agreement with the German rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB).
Management has so far refused that demand, fearing similar demands from other unions. It insists the GDL remains within sector-wide pay agreements.
Yesterday, train drivers began a 62-hour strike starting in the freight sector and spreading today to passenger and commuter transport.
The entire long-distance and local rail transport in Germany is likely to be at a standstill until tomorrow night unless drivers can be found at short notice.
"The only thing most colleagues don't understand is why we don't go for all-out strike," said a spokesman for the GDL drivers' union.
"Most think we should just stop working until the Deutsche Bahn board caves in."
Apart from the difficulties for five million Germans who use DB trains daily, economists have estimated that the strike on freight routes will cost €50 million a day.