The train drivers’ union is calling for another strike. The strike is scheduled to take place from Tuesday 2 a.m. to Wednesday 2 a.m. The railway had previously invited negotiations again but did not make a new offer.
In the collective bargaining dispute with Deutsche Bahn (DB), the train drivers’ union GDL has called for a new strike. As the union explained in a press release, the passenger transport strike is scheduled to begin at 2 a.m. on Tuesday and end at 2 a.m. on Wednesday. In freight transport, the work stoppages are scheduled to begin on Monday evening at 6 p.m. and also last 24 hours.
This means that there is only about a day between the announcement of the industrial action and its start. GDL boss Claus Weselsky had already announced before the previous strike that the railway and passengers would be given significantly less notice in the future in order to prepare for the industrial action.
It is unclear whether the railway will be able to set up an emergency timetable again in the shortest possible time. The group may also stop all long-distance transport due to the short notice.
Railway without new offer
Shortly before the new strike announcement, the railway invited the union again to collective bargaining on Monday. “We are convinced that we will only be able to reach an agreement through dialogue at the negotiating table,” said DB Human Resources Director Martin Seiler.
However, on Friday the GDL made a new, written offer from the railway as a prerequisite for further discussions. The company did not respond to this. In this “very advanced phase of the negotiations, switching to a written exchange of offers and answers” would be “not expedient,” argued the railway.
The GDL had set a deadline of 6 p.m. today for the requested offer. Since the railway has allowed this period of “unaccomplished work” to pass, this will “inevitably lead to industrial action,” said GDL boss Claus Weselsky. He accused the DB board of “refusal to work”.
Bahn also offers arbitration
The railway had previously also offered to enter into formal arbitration. This would mean that one or two people would be used as neutral third parties to reach a collective agreement. Unlike the moderators already in place, arbitrators in the process shape the negotiation according to process and content, explained the railway. In addition, at the end of an arbitration there is an arbitrator’s decision if the collective bargaining parties have not been able to reach an amicable agreement.
Criticism of statements Compromise proposal
The GDL’s core demand in the collective bargaining dispute is the gradual introduction of a 35-hour week with full wage compensation. Last week, the moderators – Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther and the former Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière – proposed a reduction in weekly working hours in two stages from 38 to 36 hours with full wage compensation by 2028.
GDL boss Weselsky initially presented this proposal as less favorable for the GDL than it actually was. He then initially admitted a “mistake in thinking,” and a little later he spoke Deutschlandfunk from a “slip of the tongue.” The railway had stated several times that it wanted to complete the negotiations “based on the overall package proposed by the moderators”.
Union calls for exchange of the negotiator
Weselsky is now heavily criticized. Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) suspected ARD interviewthat the GDL is looking for “reasons to strike”.
There are demands from the Union to exchange both negotiators – i.e. Weselsky and Seiler. They had become “so caught up that they had to clear the way for new negotiators in the collective bargaining dispute,” said the deputy leader of the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Ulrich Lange, to “Bild am Sonntag”.
Johannes Frewel, RBB, tagesschau, March 10, 2024 9:26 p.m