Excuses were plentiful for those arriving late to work in Germany on Tuesday. For the second day running, warning strikes laid rail travel low across the country. Deutsche Bahn train drivers placed a particular emphasis on the morning rush hour and stopped work betwen 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., causing local trains in Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Munich to become hopelessly delayed. The three unions involved in the strike say there will be further strikes throughout the day focusing on particular regions in Germany.

The Tuesday morning strikes came just as the train network was recovering from the Monday warning strikes  which stranded travelers across the country. Train workers from the rail unions Transnet and GDBA are asking for a 7 percent pay raise for their 134,000 employees. Germany's train company Deutsche Bahn has so far only offered two 2 percent bumps over the next two years in addition to a one-time payment of €300. The two unions have said that they are willing to return to the negotiating table as soon as Deutsche Bahn improves its offer.

Tuesday morning's chaos, however, stemmed largely from a third union -- the GDL -- which represents locomotive drivers among other rail workers. The train drivers are demanding their own collective salary agreement -- which Deutsche Bahn has categorically refused -- in addition to a pay raise of up to 31 percent. Margret Suckale, head of personnel for the Deutsche Bahn, described the demands as "irresponsible and totally exaggerated," as well as "a bad joke."

Train drivers from GDL have also warned that they are prepared to strike for an entire week if necessary, a move which would surely result in extreme rail chaos in Germany. The union has pledged to announce any strike 24 hours in advance.

German commentators on Tuesday take a closer look at the rail strikes.

The Financial Times Deutschland writes:

"The small GDL union is only acting as though it is joining forces with the larger unions GDBA and Transnet. By striking at the same time, it's not quite so apparent that, contrary to the larger unions, the GDL is demanding a pay rise of up to 30 percent -- a demand that the public might otherwise find excessive…. (The union) is taking advantage of the fact that train drivers are indispensable for the operation of Germany's railways. Given this powerful bargaining position, Deutsche Bahn head Hartmut Mehdorn has to get used to the idea of paying the GDL members more that the other striking rail workers."

"The GDL has chosen the best possible time for their excessive demands: Deutsche Bahn is making fat profits at the moment, but is not yet listed on the stock market. For Mehdorn, the strikes can't be a good sign, considering that he will have to try to attract investors to a company that is so obviously dependant on a single group of employees."

Conservative daily Die Welt has this to say:

"It would seem that Mehdorn should be able to handle the current labor spat -- especially given that 2006 was, no matter how you look at it, a record year for the company. Nevertheless, it will be difficult to contain the conflict. The three rail unions are hopelessly estranged from one another. The trench warfare they are pursuing doesn't just weaken the employees, but also the company itself. After all, it is difficult for an employer, even if it is willing to make compromises, to successfully negotiate with unions that are pulling in different directions. It should be clear to the unions that they should quickly come to an agreement to end the current action. Each day the strike continues, more and more angry train passengers will switch to their cars."

The financial daily Handelsblatt takes on the train drivers' union GDL:

"(Tuesday's train drivers' strike) seems absurd against the background that the union has so far not made any realistic demands, nor have they even bothered to negotiate with their employers at Deutsche Bahn. Even more absurd is the fact that the labor dispute being fought on the backs of Bahn customers is also a fight among Germany's rail unions. The two other rail worker unions, Transnet and GDBA, have for a long time spoken with one voice in wage negotiations and have kept their demands realistic when seen in the light of Deutsche Bahn's positive balance sheet. Even Monday's warning strikes carried out by the two unions were mere pin pricks."

"The GDL, on the other hand, has chosen a radical course and is refusing a dialogue with their two sister unions. The union's credibility will hardly be improved."

The left-leaning daily Die Tageszeitung, not surprisingly, comes down on the side of the unions:

"The rail strikes are necessary and should be viewed with patience by customers .... The unions Transnet and GDBA as well as GDL are fighting for higher wages. And that is perfectly okay. After all, so far, the increasing success experienced by Deutsche Bahn has been paid for by the workers. Due to layoffs, they have had to work longer hours while at the same time receiving only moderate pay rises in the recent past…. If Mehdorn really wants to create the 'best train company'--- as he has pledged -- then he has to observe a rule that is valid for all companies: Rising profits have to result in rising wages."

Finally, center-left daily Süddeutsche Zeitung takes something of a broader view and looks at the reasons behind an increase in the number of strikes in Germany recently:

"One reason is the economic upswing. After the turn of the millennium, the economy was clearly not doing well. Money that isn't there can't be demanded through strikes. In the mean time, however, the economy is better … and unions are doing what they can to secure their part in the improvement."

"In addition, expectations of union members have also climbed not just because their real wages sank during the last recession, but also because they could at the same time read in the newspapers about the unscrupulous raises and handing out of stock options going on among company managers in Germany. When a company cuts Christmas bonuses for its retired workers while at the same time granting 30 percent raises to its company heads, nobody should be surprised when bitterness is the result. That is another factor underlying this year's wage negotiations."