The warning strike will also affect RSVG bus routes. According to the transport company, the restrictions are expected to last from 3 a.m. on Monday morning until around 4 a.m. on Wednesday. Individual services operated by subcontractors will not be affected. The RSVG has also published special timetables on its website.

The union announced that rallies are planned on both days, including at the SWB depots in Friesdorf, Dransdorf and Beuel and at the RSVG depots in Sieglar and Hennef. The services of Deutsche Bahn, Mittelrheinbahn and other railway companies will not be affected by the strike.

Commuters travelling to Düsseldorf will also be affected as there will be a strike there as well. According to Düsseldorf Rheinbahn, its entire network is affected, i.e. the city of Düsseldorf, the district of Mettmann, the city of Meerbusch and connections to Duisburg, Krefeld, Neuss and Ratingen. Despite the 48-hour warning strike, attempts will be made to run some bus lines, Rheinbahn announced on Friday.

For Tuesday, the union is also calling on public sector employees of the federal government and municipalities in the greater Cologne, Bonn and Leverkusen areas to take part in an all-day warning strike. Day-care centres, municipal hospitals and public utilities and waste management companies are also to take part. According to Verdi, the LVR clinic in Bonn and Helios in Siegburg will go on strike on Tuesday. The student unions will also strike on Tuesday.

It was not yet clear which of the 70 municipal day-care centres in Bonn might be affected by the strike on Tuesday. "Since the employees are not obliged to inform the employer in advance whether they will join the warning strike, the city administration cannot estimate the extent of the strike," explained Lea Hoffmann from the press office of the city of Bonn. "Basically, closures and emergency group arrangements must be expected." Bonnorange assumes that the restrictions on Tuesday will be kept within limits, as with the previous industrial action. So far, only a few employees have gone on strike.

Already on Friday, there had been all-day warning strikes at the airports Cologne/Bonn and Düsseldorf. In Cologne/Bonn, about 100 passenger flights (60 take-offs, 40 landings) were cancelled. Workers in aviation security, passenger control, personnel, goods and cargo control as well as public service workers had been called to strike at the airport. Collective bargaining is currently underway for both groups of workers. At Düsseldorf airport, there had only been emergency operations, but there were numerous cancellations.

At both airports, one-day warning strikes at the end of February had caused considerable disruption. Hundreds of flights were cancelled due to the work stoppages. Flight operations at Cologne/Bonn Airport came to an almost complete standstill.

Further reports will follow.

(Original text: Lisa Inhoffen, Sabrina Bauer, Joshua Bung and Michael Wrobel/Translation: Jean Lennox)