Deutsche Bahn has canceled the collective bargaining negotiations that were actually planned for Thursday due to the strike by the train drivers’ union GDL, which was announced at short notice and unexpectedly. “We will not be negotiating with the train drivers’ union this week. Either you strike or you negotiate, both are not possible at the same time,” said DB Human Resources Director Martin Seiler. A clear timetable had actually been agreed between DB and the train drivers’ union that things would continue on the basis of the 11 percent offer. “Anyone who breaks agreements and makes millions of travelers liable with a short-term strike cannot expect that we will simply continue to sit at the negotiating table,” said Seiler. The DB manager also criticized the fact that the strike had been “deliberately” scheduled for a negotiation date that had already been agreed upon. This “is a unique escalation in our social partnership that we do not accept.”
The GDL surprisingly called a warning strike on Tuesday. This should last from this Wednesday evening, 10 p.m. to Thursday, 6 p.m. The railway has now drawn up an emergency plan. The digital timetables should be finalized by noon. Long trains in particular would be used in order to be able to offer as many seats as possible.