A major strike brought much of Germany's air traffic, rail services and commuter lines to a standstill on Monday as workers demanded wage hikes in the face of high inflation.
Workers at airports, ports, railways, buses and metro lines in many of Europe's leading economies have heeded the 24-hour strike call by Verdi and EVG unions.
“A labor struggle without impact is toothless,” Verdi boss Frank Werneke told public broadcaster Phoenix.
He acknowledged that the stop would hurt many travelers and vacationers, but "a day's tension is better with the prospect of reaching a wage agreement than weeks of industrial action".
Berlin's usually bustling central train station was mostly quiet Monday morning after the national rail canceled long-distance and regional connections across the country.
Arrivals and departures boards at Frankfurt and Munich airports, the country's largest airports, showed rows of canceled flights.
As industrial action has been widely publicized, many passengers have switched to other modes of transport.
Simon, 31, a student in Berlin, said he expected 30 minutes more commute time as he had to use two buses instead of the canceled regional train.
But he said he found the "strike" legitimate because "many people were mobilized for better working conditions".
But retired Gloria Bierwald, 73, said the strike had gone "too far".
“The strikers' demands are relatively exaggerated. I think people should be satisfied when they find work.”
Transport Minister Volker Wissing ordered states on Sunday to lift restrictions on truck deliveries to avoid supply shortages, while asking airports to allow late night takeoffs and landings "so that stranded passengers can reach their destination".
Verdi represents approximately 2,5 million public sector workers, while EVG represents 230.000 workers in the railways and bus companies.
The rare joint strike marks the escalation of an increasingly fractious dispute over a pay package to dampen the impact of rising inflation.
Employers, mostly state and public sector companies, have so far rejected requests, offering instead a five percent increase in two one-time payments of 1.000 ($1.100) and 1.500 euros this year and next year.
While Verdi demands a 10,5 percent increase in monthly salaries, EVG wants a 12 percent increase for the people it represents.
Martin Seiler, head of human resources at the state-owned rail company Deutsche Bahn (DB), called the nationwide strike "groundless and unnecessary" and urged the unions to return to the negotiating table "immediately".
Estimating that around 380.000 air travelers will be affected, the German airport association said the strike went "beyond any conceivable and justifiable measure".
While employers accuse workers' representatives of contributing to a wage-price spiral that will only fuel inflation, unions say their members are being asked to bear the brunt of the rising cost of living.
In Germany, as in many other countries, people are struggling with high inflation, which reached 8,7 percent in February after Russia's invasion of Ukraine increased food and energy costs.
Similar strikes took place in the UK, where public and private sector workers took industrial action as inflation stubbornly remained above 10 percent.
Germany's "mega-strike", as the local press has called it, has been following industrial actions in recent months in sectors ranging from postal services to airports and local transport.
The third round of salary negotiations for public sector workers was due to begin Monday.
In early March, airports in Bremen, Berlin, Hamburg and Hanover canceled more than 350 flights after security personnel went out. Bus and subway workers in Frankfurt also went on strike.
However, some unions have managed to achieve large wage increases.
Postal workers posted an average monthly increase of 11,5 percent in early March, and in November Germany's largest union, IG Metall, received a total of 8,5 percent raise for the nearly four million workers it represents.