Travelers are hoping for running trains at Easter – since the railways and GDL are negotiating again, there should be no strike, at least for the time being. The FDP is taking up calls for stricter strike rights. The DGB speaks of a “declaration of war”.
In view of the wage dispute between the train drivers’ union GDL and Deutsche Bahn that has been dragging on for months, the FDP is emphasizing calls for stricter strike rights. Particularly when it comes to critical infrastructure, it is crucial “that proportionality is maintained and excessive strike greed, as we have experienced, is prevented in the future,” said General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai to Bild am Sonntag.
Djir-Sarai listed the reforms that he believes are necessary to include instruments such as mandatory arbitration, clear strike deadlines and the possibility of replacing negotiators. “We also have to talk about a general restriction on the right to strike in sensitive areas.”
The FDP politician accused GDL boss Claus Weselsky of having “held the entire country hostage for months without showing any serious willingness to find a compromise.” The economic damage is enormous. “It cannot continue like this in the future.”
Wissing: Let’s take a “very close” look at it
Recently, there have been repeated considerations about possible restrictions on the right to strike. Transport Minister Volker Wissing made it clear that politicians will probably take up this issue soon. It is clear that the federal government cannot interfere in an ongoing collective bargaining dispute by threatening to change the law, said the FDP politician at the beginning of the week ARD morning magazine. “But it is also clear that we will look at this very closely. Once this collective bargaining dispute is resolved, we will have to examine whether we need a change or not.”
The general manager of the Federal Association of Employers’ Associations, Steffen Kampeter, called on the legislature to act in the “Rheinische Post”. “We need clear industrial action law, especially for the railways and similar areas.”
The economist Veronika Grimm told the same newspaper: “The right to strike enjoys a high level of protection and that is a good thing. But if the strikes increasingly put a strain on competitiveness, it may of course be that the legislature intervenes and adjusts the rules.” For example, one could consider requiring an arbitration procedure before the strike.
DGB leader Fahimi rejects demands
The legal policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Günter Krings, and the chairwoman of the CDU medium-sized business association, Gitta Connemann, demanded lead times for strikes.
DGB leader Yasmin Fahimi sharply criticized such considerations. “This is an absolute declaration of war on the unions and we will not give in an inch,” she told the online portal Web.de News. A restrictive right to strike applies in Germany. “Political strikes like those in France are ruled out here,” said Fahimi. “So if the right to strike is now being questioned, it is either pure populism or a careless game with constitutional rights.”
Agreement perhaps next week
Deutsche Bahn and the GDL announced on Saturday that they would return to the negotiating table. Both parties are optimistic that a solution will be reached in the coming week, it said. The GDL has announced that it will refrain from further strikes until then.
Two weeks before Easter, this should be good news for many passengers. In some federal states the Easter holidays begin this Monday. Against this background, Federal Transport Minister Wissing called on the air transport and rail unions to observe an “Easter peace”. “The unions should make it clear in good time that there will be no strikes during the Easter period,” he told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung.
In the current tariff dispute with the railways, the GDL has already called for industrial action six times, thereby severely affecting rail traffic. The latest strike ended on Wednesday morning.