In the middle of the pre-Christmas period, the train drivers’ union GDL is again calling for a strike: most trains will be at a standstill from Thursday evening. The strike is scheduled to last until Friday evening at 10 p.m.
In the collective bargaining dispute with Deutsche Bahn, the train drivers’ union GDL has called on its members to go on strike again. From Thursday evening at 10 p.m. to Friday evening at the same time, passengers across the country will once again have to prepare for thousands of train cancellations. According to the GDL announcement, the strike in freight transport should begin at 6 p.m. on Thursday evening.
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.
Among other things, the union wants to emphasize the demand for a reduction in working hours for shift workers. GDL boss Claus 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 employers are stonewalling everywhere and are not prepared to give the employees the appreciation and recognition they deserve for the work they have done,” said the union, justifying the renewed strike.
German Railways: “Irresponsible and selfish”
Deutsche Bahn reacted with sharp criticism. “The train drivers’ union (GDL) 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.”
Last strike on November 15th and 16th
The last time the GDL went on strike at the railway was on November 15th and 16th. During this 20-hour work stoppage, a good 80 percent of the long-distance trips that were actually planned were canceled. In regional transport, the effects were even more pronounced in some federal states; in some regions there were at times virtually no trains and hardly any S-Bahn.
At the same time as the negotiations were broken off at the end of November, the GDL initiated a strike vote for an indefinite strike, the result of which should be available before Christmas. The union does not want to strike over the Christmas period, but has not defined the period more precisely.
The GDL 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.
Calling the dbb
With the renewed call for a warning strike, the GDL is apparently also ignoring the call from the Civil Service Association (dbb) to coordinate negotiations for public sector employees in the federal states. “It would be absurd if our actions were torpedoed by strikes by our own member organization,” dbb chairman Ulrich Silberbach recently told the “Stuttgarter Zeitung”.
The public service negotiations are scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Potsdam. The GDL is a member of the dbb.
Lars Hofmann, HR, tagesschau, December 6th, 2023 6:50 p.m