One last strike before the “Christmas peace”: In the collective bargaining dispute, the GDL train drivers’ union is once again increasing the pressure on the railway with its warning strike starting in the evening. The company reacts with sharp criticism.
Shortly before the second weekend of Advent, the next warning strike is imminent at the railway. The train drivers’ union GDL has called on its members to stop work in the evening. The strike at Deutsche Bahn began at 6 p.m. in freight traffic, and is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. in passenger traffic and end at 10 p.m. on Friday evening.
Restrictions are expected before the warning strike begins, as well as afterwards. All employees in the areas of long-distance transport and regional transport, as well as the employees of the S-Bahn in Berlin and Hamburg, are called to strike. In addition to Deutsche Bahn, the strike also applies to the regional train operators Transdev, AKN Eisenbahn and City-Bahn Chemnitz.
GDL boss: Railways must make the shift system more attractive
Among other things, the union wants to emphasize the demand for a reduction in working hours for shift workers. The railway has been lacking new trainees for two years, said GDL boss Claus Weselsky in an interview tagesschau24. “That means we already know that not enough people want to take up the profession anymore, but employers have no solution,” he said. The railway must therefore gradually reduce weekly working hours in order to make the shift system more attractive again, especially for younger people.
Weselsky declared the collective bargaining negotiations to have failed on November 24th because, among other things, the railway had not yet signaled any room for maneuver on this point. The train drivers’ union is calling for a reduction in working hours for shift workers from 38 to 35 hours per week, plus 555 euros more per month and an inflation compensation bonus. The railway has so far offered an eleven percent wage increase for a term of 32 months as well as the required inflation compensation bonus. The GDL rejected this as inadequate.
German Railways: “Irresponsible and selfish”
The railway also reacted to the announced strike with sharp criticism. “The train drivers’ union is spoiling the second weekend of Advent for millions of uninvolved people. A strike so soon after the onset of winter and so shortly before the timetable change is irresponsible and selfish,” said Deutsche Bahn’s human resources director Martin Seiler. “Instead of negotiating and facing reality, the train drivers’ union is striking for demands that cannot be met. This is absolutely unnecessary.”
During the strike, an emergency timetable with greatly reduced services will apply. According to the railway, this is now available online on the website and in the app. The railway has also set up a strike number again. Affected passengers can find out about their connections by calling 08000 99 66 33.
As with the previous GDL warning strike, the group wants to maintain around 20 percent of long-distance traffic again. However, according to the railway, this will not be possible in Bavaria because they are still dealing with the consequences of the heavy snowfall. The railway is again recommending that its passengers postpone trips or avoid trips on Thursday and Friday.
No strikes over the holidays
After the warning strike, the GDL no longer wants to strike until January 7th. At least this announcement from the GDL was welcomed by Deutsche Bahn. With this “Christmas peace,” the union has “taken the path of reflection,” said DB human resources director Seiler. This is good news for passengers.
At tagesschau24 Weselsky has already announced that the industrial action will then be “longer and harder”. “And at least 50 percent of the responsibility lies with the railway board, which has brought the railway system into this bad state.”
The Pro Bahn passenger association criticized the short notice of the strike announcement by the GDL. “We would like it to be announced two days in advance when the strike will take place so that passengers can prepare for it,” said federal chairman Detlef Neuß to the dpa news agency. In the most recent case it was only one day.
dbb: Warning strike not a problem for your own Collective bargaining
From the perspective of the German Civil Service Association (dbb), the warning strike is not a problem for the collective bargaining negotiations in the public sector in the federal states that are scheduled to take place at the same time. The negotiating teams had already arrived in Potsdam, a dbb spokesman said in response to a request from the dpa news agency this morning. If the railway does its job, there will be no risk of departure on Saturday after the warning strike ends.
The spokesman emphasized that the industrial action by the GDL, which is a member of the dbb, does not contradict the recent statements of the dbb chairman Ulrich Silberbach. Silberbach recently told the “Stuttgarter Zeitung”: “It would be absurd if our actions were torpedoed by strikes by our own member organization.”
Lars Hofmann, HR, tagesschau, December 6th, 2023 6:50 p.m