Status: 23.08.2021 1:25 p.m.
The train drivers’ union GDL has been on strike on passenger traffic since the night. Many trains are canceled, but according to Deutsche Bahn less than expected – at least in long-distance traffic. A return to the negotiating table is not yet in sight.
According to the company, the emergency schedule of Deutsche Bahn during the strike of the train drivers’ union GDL is “still stable”. “In long-distance traffic, more trains are used than in the first GDL strike,” said the railway. Instead of the previously announced 25 percent, the company now wants to bring around 30 percent of the otherwise usual train journeys by rail.
In regional and S-Bahn traffic, however, nothing will change. 40 percent of the trains are on the move there. “Here, however, the number of trains offered varies greatly depending on the region,” it said. The focus of the strike is the eastern federal states.
According to the railway, the travelers concerned were well informed. Many would have preferred their trip to the weekend, especially Sunday. Tickets affected by the strike can still be used flexibly until September 4th. Since Friday around 33,000 calls have been made to the strike number of the railway – 08000-996633 – received.
GDL is sticking to strikes despite the offer of a corona premium
Mirja Fiedler, RBB, daily news 8:00 p.m., 23.8.2021
Holidays in ten federal states
After a first strike in mid-August, the new strike by GDL members began on Saturday afternoon – initially with the focus on freight traffic. Since the night from Sunday to Monday, passenger traffic has also been on strike. The strike should last until Wednesday morning at 2:00 a.m.
As a result, millions of passengers have to prepare for train cancellations and delays at the beginning of the week. The strike also hits many vacationers – there are still summer holidays in ten federal states.
GDL calls for a wage increase and corona bonus
The GDL is demanding a corona bonus of 600 euros and an immediate wage increase of 3.2 percent from Deutsche Bahn. Most recently, the railway had offered the union negotiations on a bonus and a wage increase in two steps: 1.5 percent on January 1, 2022 and 1.7 percent on March 1, 2023, with a term until the end of June 2024.
Union chief Claus Weselsky rejected a negotiation on this basis in joint Morning magazine from ARD and ZDF off again. The offer of the railway was “not a specific offer”, because it was not clear whether the premium would amount to “100 or 600 euros”, he said. “You have to give at least a number.” Weselsky accused the railway of tacting: “They knew beforehand that we would say no.”
Bahn spokesman Achim Stauß, on the other hand, criticized the cancellation of the GDL. “That shows that the GDL is about a political fight and not about a solution at the negotiating table.” The GDL top causes damage, “regardless of the passengers, regardless of the majority of our employees and regardless of the DB company.”