Bus driver warning strike

“It was important that pupils were not affected”

Bus drivers also took to the streets in Vösendorf to demonstrate.(Bild: Gewerkschaft)

Bus drivers took to the streets between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Thursday. The disruptions are likely to have been limited. "We didn't want schoolchildren to be affected," says Lower Austria's vida union boss Horst Pammer. There was also no major chaos on Lower Austria's roads, as confirmed by NÖVOG.

"We can and we are doing it," says Horst Pammer after the nationwide warning strikes by bus drivers employed by private companies, which took place "despite threats of dismissal" in the early hours of February 20. The bus drivers announced the strikes after a failed fourth round of salary negotiations. 

Strikes throughout Lower Austria
Whether in St. Pölten, Gänserndorf, at Schwechat Airport, in Himberg, Mistelbach, Horn or Hollabrunn and regardless of whether at ÖBB Postbus, Dr. Richard or other private companies: "There was quite a lot going on everywhere. There were also a lot of people who didn't actually have to start work until later. The mood was good," says Pammer, adding that pay and working conditions were simply no longer right for the vast majority. There were strikes at 13 locations in Lower Austria. According to initial estimates by the union, almost 500 bus drivers took part in the strikes.

More money and better working conditions
"No bus driver will accept getting an allowance for just one hour on a Sunday or at night. People won't put up with it any more. Partial shifts, where you come home after 15 hours, are also a red rag," says Pammer, who also criticizes the working conditions. For longer breaks, for example, you need a way to go to the toilet or a break room, the "Krone" reported. 

Trade union sees success
The trade unionist sees the strikes as a complete success: "Now the employers know what we can do and that we are determined. What we didn't want with the warning strike today is for pupils to be affected. That's why we called the strikes so early, to show that we finally need to be more accommodating."

There was no major chaos
The chaos was limited due to the three percent of affected passengers in Lower Austria who were already on the bus at this time, reports NÖVOG spokesperson Georg Huemer. There could be no talk of a widespread breakdown.

But: "There were massive failures on the Lup city bus in St. Pölten. There were already difficulties for commuters on other routes, such as lines 104 and 105 from Mistelbach and Gänserndorf to St. Pölten," says Huemer, noting that the strike failures were also taken over by other drivers because many did not take part in the dispute.