There is no threat of a strike at Deutsche Bahn in the next few weeks. The Union of German Locomotive Drivers (GDL) wants to call on its members to hold a ballot, which will run until August 6, 2021 and be counted three days later. The chairman Claus Weselsky said in Berlin: “The GDL will not call for warning strikes of a few hours or a day.” He announced: “We will not go on warning strikes until August 9th.” If the railway does not submit a new offer, there will be a labor dispute.
Some holidaymakers can therefore breathe a sigh of relief because at least the first few weeks of the summer vacation do not go on strike. In some federal states, even the entire school holidays are strike-free. Those who, on the other hand, like Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg, start their school holidays late, have to worry even more.
Bahn and GDL hold each other responsible for the failure of previous collective bargaining. The GDL is calling for wage increases, as in the public sector, of around 3.2 percent and a significant corona bonus in the current year. According to Deutsche Bahn, the total demands add up to about three times as much. Because of the pandemic, the company wants to orientate itself on the “emergency collective agreement” of the airports, which would spread a similar increase of 3.2 percent over a longer period of time and later incremental points.
Deutsche Bahn has repeatedly asked the union to return to the negotiating table. “The solution is not relevant for us. We are also open to an arbitration,” said Martin Seiler, Chief Human Resources Officer on Thursday. There was only an unsuccessful arbitration procedure in the autumn.
There are well-founded offers for more wages and additional protection against dismissal on the table, about which the GDL top has so far refused serious negotiations, said a railway spokeswoman. After the tough months of the pandemic, the GDL wanted to destroy the spirit of optimism. Rising booking numbers had just given the state-owned company hope for a respite in the corona crisis.
The crisis tore a gap of more than four billion euros in 2020 alone, and the already heavily indebted group expects the pandemic to cause total damage of around ten billion euros by 2024.