Deutsche Bahn is taking legal action against the new strike by the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL). The company has submitted an urgent application for an interim injunction to the Frankfurt am Main labor court in order to stop the announced strike. It would be the sixth industrial dispute in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute – and the beginning of the so-called “wave strikes”.
The railway bases its argument primarily on the short-term nature of the new strike. The lead time of just 22 hours for freight transport is “a sheer imposition,” said DB Human Resources Director Martin Seiler. “We consider these wave strikes to be disproportionate,” continued Seiler. They jeopardized supplies in the country. The railway is therefore doing everything it can to prevent the strike.
The GDL’s new strike is also groundless because the railway has repeatedly emphasized that it wants to complete the negotiations on the basis of the moderators’ overall proposal – including a 36-hour week with full wage compensation. “Anyone who calls for a reduction in working hours from 38 to 35 hours and could get 36 hours in an overall package should not paralyze the entire country,” said Seiler.
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