GERMANY was brought to a standstill by an eight-hour railway strike today.

Airports serving four German cities were also hit in a parallel pay dispute.

After the EVG rail workers’ union called for the walkout on Wednesday, Germany’s state-owned main train operator Deutsche Bahn announced it was cancelling long-distance services and that most regional trains would also be cancelled.

EVG says it needs to step up pressure on employers as it seeks an inflation-busting pay raise. 

Deutsche Bahn, which is one of dozens of companies hit by the strike, called the strike “pointless and unnecessary” and accused EVG, without evidence, of trying to score points in an alleged bitter long-term rivalry with another rail union.

The walkout comes after a one-day strike on March 27 that paralysed the railway network. That strike was co-ordinated with another union, ver.di, which brought most of Germany’s airports and some regional transit networks to a standstill.

Ver.di called security and service workers at Duesseldorf, Cologne-Bonn and Hamburg airports out on strike on Thursday and today.

Stuttgart airport was also affected today, with all departures cancelled.

EVG is demanding a pay rise of 12 per cent to keep pace with the high cost of living in Germany. 

Ver.di is engaged in a series of pay negotiations — including for employees of Germany’s federal and municipal governments. 

Ver.di is seeking a 10.5 per cent pay raise. Mediators between the unions and employers have proposed a compromise that would result in a lower increase.

New rounds of negotiations in both disputes are scheduled in the coming days.

Germany’s annual inflation rate has declined from the levels it reached late last year but is still high. The March figure for inflation in Germany was 7.4 per cent.