Railway strike
The GDL’s warning strike is underway – Deutsche Bahn sets up an emergency hotline
The rail strike is ongoing: travelers are standing in a queue in front of the travel center at Düsseldorf main station.
© Oliver Berg / DPA
The GDL train drivers’ union has been on strike since late Wednesday evening. Passengers will particularly feel the effects this Thursday. An emergency number promises help.–
With a 20-hour warning strike, the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) rail traffic has been largely paralyzed nationwide since Wednesday evening. Passengers will particularly feel the effects this Thursday, the main day of the industrial action. At night there are hardly any trains, especially for passenger transport. The regular start of operations is early in the morning. Commuters in particular will then have to look for an alternative or work from home. Deutsche Bahn assumes that there will be no regional trains in some regions. S-Bahn traffic in larger cities is also affected.
Rail strike: DB sets up emergency hotline for travelers
In long-distance transport, the group expects more than 80 percent of all ICE and IC trains to be canceled. The consequences are also likely to be far-reaching in freight transport. According to its own information, the railway expects a backlog of several hundred freight trains, some of which have urgent scheduled freight. “After the strike ends, it will take several days until this traffic jam is cleared,” the railway said.
The GDL announced the official end of the warning strike for 6 p.m. on Thursday. However, it will probably take a little longer until everything is running smoothly again in passenger transport. The aim of the railway is to ensure smooth operations when operations begin early on Friday morning.
After starting a 20-hour warning strike, the Train asked their passengers to avoid non-essential trips this Thursday or to postpone trips. “The GDL strike is causing massive disruption to all long-distance and regional transport,” said the Train early Thursday morning. If you still have to drive, you should check the information media shortly before you start your journey Train inform. The emergency timetable for passenger transport has started.
DB has set up a free strike hotline for customers from 8 a.m. on 08000 99 66 33.
GDL demands more wages and less working hours, Bahn considers this to be impossible
It is the GDL’s first industrial action in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute. She demands 555 euros more per month as well as an inflation compensation bonus for a term of twelve months. As a core demand, she also wants to implement a reduction in working hours for shift workers from 38 to 35 hours per week with full wage compensation.
The railway describes this as impossible. In the first round of collective bargaining last week, it promised employees a pay increase of eleven percent over a period of 32 months as well as the required inflation compensation bonus. However, the company did not make an offer regarding working hours.
Nevertheless, both sides agreed on further negotiation dates, initially every week. The next round of talks was scheduled for this Thursday and Friday. However, after the GDL’s surprising warning strike announcement, the railway canceled the appointment. It remains unclear when the collective bargaining partners will come together again.
Both sides accused each other of not honoring the agreements reached. The railway called the GDL’s actions “a unique escalation in our social partnership that we do not accept.” The GDL, in turn, accused the railways of having no interest in finding a solution at the negotiating table.
The union has announced two rallies for Thursday, one in Berlin in front of the originally planned venue for negotiations. The other is to take place in Schwerin together with the German Civil Service Association (dbb).