questions and answers
Rail strike on Thursday
What the GDL is planning and what the railway is now advising its customers
It is not yet clear how many trains will stop on Thursday because of the GDL strike
© Moritz Frankenberg / DPA
During collective bargaining with the railways, the train drivers’ union GDL called for a strike. What train travelers can expect on Thursday.
Train travelers are likely to groan: The The train drivers’ union GDL has called for a strike on Thursday due to stalled collective bargaining with Deutsche Bahn. But what exactly are the union and railway staff planning?
When will the GDL members go on strike?
As the GDL announced on Tuesday, the strike will begin on Wednesday evening at 10 p.m. and end on Thursday evening at 6 p.m.
Who should go on strike?
The strike call therefore applies to employees of Deutsche Bahn, but also to other companies with which the GDL is currently in negotiations. Among them are the Transdev-Group, which mostly operates local transport networks in several federal states via subsidiaries, the City Bahn Chemnitz and several personnel service providers for locomotive drivers.
What does this mean for train travelers?
According to its own statements, the railway expects a massive impact on rail traffic and travelers should be informed “as quickly and comprehensively as possible”. The potential for major disruption to rail traffic is GDLIn any case, labor disputes are big – precisely because many of the extremely important train drivers are members. In addition, she calls GDL also explicitly those union members Walkout on who do not work in the 18 companies in which GDL-collective agreements are paid.
What does Deutsche Bahn advise its customers?
Deutsche Bahn has called on its customers to postpone trips in light of the warning strike by the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union. “The GDL strike caused massive disruption to DB’s long-distance, regional and S-Bahn traffic nationwide from the evening of November 15th up to and including November 16th,” the company wrote on Tuesday evening on X, formerly Twitter. “Please postpone your trips.”
Is there an emergency timetable for long-distance transport?
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“The DB has developed an emergency timetable for long-distance transport with a greatly reduced range of journeys. For these journeys, the DB uses longer trains with more seats in order to be able to bring as many people as possible to their destination,” the company writes in a press release. However, a ride cannot be guaranteed.
What about restrictions on regional transport?
“In regional transport, the aim is to run a greatly reduced offer,” the railway said. “The extent to which this is possible varies greatly from region to region. In any case, there will also be massive restrictions on regional transport.”
What do customers do if they don’t start their train journey?
“All passengers who cancel their trip planned for November 15th or 16th due to the strikes If you want to postpone the GDL, you can use your ticket at a later date,” writes the railway. “The train connection has been cancelled. The ticket is valid for the journey to the original destination, even with a changed route.” Seat reservations can be canceled free of charge.
What does the railway say about the strike?
Deutsche Bahn human resources director Martin Seiler criticized the GDL’s strike decision two days before the next round of negotiations as “an absurdity” and an “unreasonable expectation for rail passengers.” The group has just had four more negotiation dates with the Train drivers’ union agreed and had already put an eleven percent offer on the table in the opening round, emphasized Seiler. By striking ahead of the imminent new negotiations, the train drivers’ union is making “millions of people liable” and “trampling on social partnership.” Seiler threw it GDL claimed that she was “never interested in solutions”.
What does the GDL demand?
The GDL calls for a wage increase of at least 555 euros for a collective bargaining period of one year and an increase in allowances for shift work by 25 percent. She also wants to achieve a 35-hour week with full wage compensation and tax-free inflation payments of 3,000 euros for employees in shift work.
What does the railway offer the union?
The company offers eleven percent more wages and an inflation bonus of up to 2,850 euros for a term of 32 months. The ones from the GDL The group rejects the requested reduction in working hours with full wage compensation as unachievable. GDLHowever, boss Claus Weselsky had emphasized that this was “non-negotiable”.