Collective bargaining failed
GDL boss Weselsky announces new rail strike
November 24, 2023, 12:08 p.m
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The German Locomotive Drivers Union wants to strike again at Deutsche Bahn. GDL boss Claus Weselsky said the collective bargaining had failed. He did not give an exact time period when making his announcement.
The German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) declared the collective bargaining to have failed after the second round of talks with Deutsche Bahn. At the same time, she announced new warning strikes at Deutsche Bahn in Berlin. There are currently no compromises to be found with the employers, said GDL boss Claus Weselsky. He announced that the union would strike again on rail transport. He initially did not give exact dates for possible warning strikes.
The ballot among the GDL members on indefinite strikes is still ongoing; the result is expected at the end of December. If 75 percent of those voting agree to indefinite industrial action, the GDL can also use this means of pressure in the collective bargaining dispute. The first round of collective bargaining only began two weeks ago.
Deutsche Bahn has sharply criticized the train drivers’ union’s decision to declare collective bargaining to have failed after the second round of negotiations. Railway personnel director Martin Seiler said that the GDL had rejected a three-week Christmas peace, i.e. a period without industrial action at the railway. “We specifically suggested to the GDL that we have a Christmas truce between December 15th and January 7th,” said Seiler. However, the train drivers’ union with its boss Claus Weselsky was not prepared to do this.
A week ago, the GDL paralyzed large parts of train traffic nationwide with a 20-hour warning strike. Due to the industrial action, a good 80 percent of the long-distance journeys that were actually planned were canceled. In regional transport, the effects were even more pronounced in some federal states.
GDL wants less working hours
The focus of collective bargaining is currently on the GDL’s demand for a reduction in weekly working hours for shift workers from 38 to 35 hours per week with full wage compensation. DB Human Resources Director Martin Seiler believes the request cannot be implemented and sees no room for negotiation. He argues that implementation would be too expensive. In addition, with fewer weekly working hours, more employees are needed – which are particularly difficult to find in times of skilled labor shortages.
GDL boss Weselsky, on the other hand, assumes that jobs at the railway will become more attractive with fewer weekly working hours. In addition to reducing working hours, the GDL is demanding, among other things, 555 euros more per month and an inflation compensation bonus for employees. The railway has so far offered an eleven percent wage increase for a term of 32 months as well as the required inflation compensation bonus. The GDL also wants to expand its sphere of influence on the railways and negotiate collective agreements for infrastructure areas. The railway rejects this because the GDL is hardly represented in these areas.
Since the beginning of the still young collective bargaining dispute, the GDL has been trying to keep the pressure on the railway as high as possible with many strike threats and the start of the strike vote. Declaring the negotiations to have failed after two weeks means the next level of escalation. After the first round of negotiations, Weselsky presented it as a success that the union and the railway were able to agree on a tight schedule and numerous further meetings until Christmas. These appointments will not be needed for the foreseeable future.
Arbitration as a way out?
A way out of the current situation could be arbitration, i.e. negotiations with one or more mediators. The railway had suggested such a moderated approach before the first round of negotiations began, already in anticipation of a tough collective bargaining conflict with the GDL. At the time, Weselsky rejected the proposal in clear terms. On Friday he said that he now sees “no room” for mediation.
According to the group, the collective agreements negotiated by the GDL are used by the railway for around 10,000 employees. This makes it the significantly smaller employee representative at the federally owned company – for comparison: the railway and transport union EVG negotiated new collective agreements for around 180,000 DB employees in the spring and summer. Because the GDL primarily represents train drivers and train attendants, it can also disrupt train traffic in Germany with strikes and warning strikes. Under its current chairman Weselsky, the GDL is known for tough collective bargaining disputes.