strike
Deutsche Bahn invites GDL to new negotiations on Monday
At the moment, Deutsche Bahn can almost only offer its passengers waiting times and standstill
© Sven Hoppe / DPA
Deutsche Bahn is making a new attempt to end the strike. The negotiations should take place on the basis of the old offer. A response from the train drivers’ union GDL is pending.
Deutsche Bahn (DB) has founded the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) invited to new collective bargaining on Monday. The basis should be the proposal of the two moderators to reduce working hours, which they presented in the failed round of negotiations last week, as the railway announced on Friday. Bahn personnel director Martin Seiler made the suggestion in an email to GDL chairman Claus Weselsky.
In the letter, the railway personnel director suggests that negotiations be resumed on Monday at 1 p.m. in Berlin. Seiler emphasized that the railway did not reject the two moderators’ proposal, contrary to what the GDL stated. “Rather, in your presence and in the presence of the moderators, we agreed immediately on February 26, 2024 to go beyond our pain threshold and to bring the negotiations to an end on the basis of the moderators’ overall proposal.”
Deutsche Bahn criticizes Claus Weselsky harshly
The two moderators – Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther and the former Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière (both CDU) – had suggested, among other things, reducing weekly working hours to 37 hours from 2026 and further to 36 hours from 2028, both with full wage compensation. This comes very close to the GDL’s core demand, a gradual introduction of the 35-hour week with full wage compensation.
GDL boss Weselsky misrepresented the moderator’s suggestion in a press conference on Monday to justify the 35-hour strike at the railway this week. This earned him harsh criticism. Weselsky spoke of an “oversight”. There were “a whole series of points in the moderator’s proposal that were overall unacceptable to us,” he said. It wasn’t just about working hours, but also about the term of the collective agreement, among other things.