Conversations at night
Bahn and GDL have spoken again – the strike continues
January 27, 2024, 12:05 p.m
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There seems to be a little movement again in the deadlocked tariff dispute between Deutsche Bahn and GDL. In the middle of the work stoppages there is an exchange. The train drivers’ union strictly rejected the DB’s last offer.
Deutsche Bahn and the train drivers’ union GDL held talks on Saturday night during the ongoing strike. The German Press Agency learned this from negotiating circles. Nothing was known about the content or possible results. What is certain is that the GDL would only agree to an early end to the strike if there was a prospect of a significantly improved offer from the railway.
The union vehemently rejected the last offer from rail negotiator Martin Seiler. There is no basis for negotiations, said GDL boss Claus Weselsky. Seiler linked the proposed reduction in weekly working hours by one hour to the fact that the railway could hire enough additional employees.
In addition, the railway refuses to even negotiate a GDL collective agreement for employees in the infrastructure. It was said that the GDL would only come to the negotiating table if there were no preconditions.
Strike ends on Monday
The collective bargaining conflict between the railways and the GDL has been going on since the beginning of November. The GDL declared the talks to have failed after the second round of negotiations. A little over a week ago, the railway submitted the above-mentioned offer.
In it, the company offered to be able to choose one hour less work with full pay from January 1, 2026. Anyone who decides against the reduction will receive 2.7 percent more money. In total, the employees in this case received almost 13 percent more pay from January 1, 2026 than currently.
However, the election model from January 1, 2026 was only aimed at train drivers and train crews – not enough for the GDL, which also wants to include infrastructure employees, which is one of Claus Weselsky’s core demands.
The GDL has been on strike at Deutsche Bahn for several days in order to increase the pressure on the federally owned company in the ongoing wage dispute. The work stoppages are scheduled to end on Monday at 6 p.m. However, it can be assumed that it will take a while until rail operations return to normal.