The head of the train drivers’ union GDL, Claus Weselsky, sees the management of Deutsche Bahn as responsible for the tense situation in the collective bargaining dispute and the warning strike. “I won’t let myself be accused of escalating if the other side says: ‘I’m not negotiating with you about weekly working hours and I’m not negotiating with you about collective agreements for dispatchers,'” Weselsky told radio station WDR5 on Thursday morning.
No compromise can be achieved if the employer side fundamentally rejects negotiations on these issues. Reducing weekly working hours from 38 to 35 hours for shift workers is a core demand of the GDL in the current collective bargaining dispute with Deutsche Bahn. DB Human Resources Director Martin Seiler rejects negotiations because he believes the demand cannot be implemented given the shortage of skilled workers. According to Seiler, the railway would then need significantly more employees, who are hard to find. The GDL uses this attitude on the part of the railway to justify its nationwide warning strike, which has led to numerous cancellations in both regional and long-distance transport since Wednesday evening.
The industrial action is expected to last until 6 p.m. on Thursday evening. The railway canceled the second round of negotiations that was actually planned for Thursday. The GDL wants to appear at the venue in the morning – but without its boss. Weselsky is expected at a demo in Schwerin at eleven o’clock. The 64-year-old at WDR5 once again accused the DB board of directors of poor management. “What has the railway offered over the last two years? A chaos. Unpunctuality, unreliability,” said Weselsky. He sees the blame for this in the executive suite.