As of: March 4, 2024 8:38 p.m
The train drivers’ union GDL has announced another strike in passenger transport from Thursday. GDL boss Claus Weselsky said that collective bargaining with the railways had failed. The strike is initially expected to last 35 hours. Emergency timetables also apply in the north.
Weselsky announced that the strike in passenger transport would begin on Thursday at 2 a.m. and end on Friday at 1 p.m. In freight transport, the strike is scheduled to start on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and last until Friday at 5 a.m. In addition, the GDL no longer wants to announce possible future strikes with a 48-hour advance notice, emphasized Weselsky. “We are starting so-called wave strikes,” he said. “This means that the railway is no longer a reliable means of transport.”
He also did not rule out strikes during the upcoming Easter traffic. Very likely he will too so-called emergency timetable cannot be driven like this. The railway had always drawn up such a short timetable during the previous labor disputes in the ongoing tariff dispute in order to maintain at least a very limited offer. That is also the case with this now fifth strike. In northern Germany, however, there will be significantly fewer train connections than normal on the two days of the strike.
Many regional connections in Lower Saxony affected
In Lower Saxony, various regional express and regional train lines are affected by the strike. “DB’s basic offer only ensures a very limited train offer in long-distance, regional and S-Bahn traffic. Please refrain from unnecessary trips during the GDL strike and postpone your trip to another time,” said the Bahn on their website. The strike call does not affect the private railway companies metronom, enno and erixx. These belong to the Netinera group. This had already reached a collective agreement with the GDL in December. However, problems can still arise there if the railway employees disable signal boxes. S-Bahn traffic in the city and the Hanover region as well as the Westfahlenbahn will also not be affected.
Schleswig-Holstein: Many trains only every two or three hours
The GDL strike also affects passengers Schleswig-Holstein. According to the emergency timetable, the RE7 and RE70 lines between Kiel, Neumünster and Hamburg are expected to run every two hours, and between Neumünster and Flensburg every three hours. Trains run once an hour on the Lübeck-Hamburg route, and every two hours between Bad Oldesloe and Hamburg. According to Deutsche Bahn, commuters usually come to Sylt every three hours during rush hour. Trains will also occasionally run on the Husum-Niebüll route. There are probably no trains running between Heide and Itzehoe.
Emergency timetable planned for the S-Bahn in Hamburg
In Hamburg the S-Bahn is on strike again. An emergency timetable is being worked on. “Preparations are already in full swing for us. We will offer a basic offer again,” said a spokesman on NDR 90.3. During the last strikes, an S-Bahn ran every 20 minutes on the S1, S2 and S3. Only the S5 ran every hour on the Neugraben-Stade route.
Further information
Goodwill regulations for rail passengers apply again
The Bahn announced on its website: All passengers who have already bought a ticket for a trip between March 7th and 8th and would like to postpone the trip due to the GDL strike can use their ticket at a later date. The train connection has been lifted. The ticket is valid for the journey to the original destination, even with a changed route. Seat reservations can be canceled free of charge. The trip can also be brought forward. In addition, according to Deutsche Bahn, other tariff and statutory passenger rights apply, so that, for example, a ticket refund is also possible under the appropriate conditions.
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Rail strike at the same time as a strike at Lufthansa
The new rail strike will coincide with another warning strike by ground staff at Lufthansa, which is also announced for Thursday and Friday and will again affect passengers. The warning strike is scheduled to begin on Thursday at 4 a.m. and end on Saturday at 7:10 a.m.
Rail: Wave strikes are sheer impertinence
According to Deutsche Bahn, the GDL strike will have a “massive impact” on operations. Human resources director Martin Seiler also criticized the fact that the union no longer wants to provide at least 48 hours’ notice of further strikes in the future. This is a “blatant imposition on our passengers”. Because the train drivers’ union is not getting its maximum demands, it is going on strike again, said Seiler. “This is stubborn and selfish. Many millions of people in our country cannot take the train because the GDL leadership is unwilling to compromise.” Many millions of euros would be destroyed “because a few people are fighting for their particular interests.” The railway is still ready to find constructive but realistic solutions. However, the GDL’s maximum demands cannot be met and put the railway system at considerable risk.
AUDIO: The next rail strike is coming – and more will follow (5 min)
Criticism also comes from the Pro-Rail Alliance
The pro-rail alliance Alliance also criticized the union’s actions. “With so-called wave strikes, the union is depriving passengers of the opportunity to at least prepare for them and replan accordingly,” said managing director Dirk Flege. “The damage to the railway system is immense – and it will only get worse with such ad hoc strikes.”
Federal government: Appeal for “significant responsibility” on both sides
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The The federal government appealed to both collective bargaining parties to take responsibility. Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) made it clear that a solution could only be found at the negotiating table, a ministry spokesman said on Monday. There is therefore a clear expectation of returning there. Both parties have “a very significant responsibility” also towards millions of passengers whose everyday lives are affected. In addition, Germany is experiencing a growth slowdown. As the government made clear, the federal government, as the owner of the railway, does not want to become involved in the conflict for the time being. There is collective bargaining autonomy in Germany, which must be adhered to, said the ministry spokesman. Deputy government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner said that Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) generally does not interfere in collective bargaining disputes.
Collective bargaining began in November
The collective bargaining negotiations between Deutsche Bahn and GDL began at the beginning of November 2023. Until the end of January this year, there had been hardly any negotiations, but there had been several strikes. The GDL ended the last strike early because both sides wanted to negotiate again. But the talks, which were scheduled to last four weeks, were again broken off prematurely by the union.
The crux of the matter is reducing weekly working hours
According to Deutsche Bahn, the talks failed because of the union’s core demand for a reduction in weekly working hours for shift workers from 38 to 35 hours without financial losses. The railway rejects this. In the previous weeks, she had suggested solutions within the framework of existing working time choice models. The GDL in turn rejected this. “This strike will last a total of 35 hours. 35 hours so that everyone in the republic realizes what we are about: namely the 35-hour week,” said Weselsky.
AUDIO: Strikes and rising real wages – how does that fit together? (4 mins)
Fifth strike in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute
The renewed strike is the fifth strike by the train drivers’ union in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute. Before the turn of the year, the GDL paralyzed large parts of passenger and freight traffic in two shorter warning strikes. A three-day strike followed at the beginning of January and a five-day strike at the end of January with similar effects.
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