GDL gives train “tutoring”
Rail traffic is largely at a standstill
November 15, 2023, 10:53 p.m
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Since 10 p.m. there has been almost nothing on the rails. One day after the announcement, the first warning strike begins in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute between Deutsche Bahn and the GDL union. The employers’ side is duped, while GDL boss Weselsky emphasizes that work stoppages are not unusual during ongoing negotiations.
The 20-hour warning strike by the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) in the collective bargaining dispute with Deutsche Bahn has begun. Since Wednesday evening, passengers have had to expect significant restrictions on nationwide rail transport, as a union spokesman confirmed upon request. The warning strike was ongoing, Deutsche Bahn also announced late in the evening. The industrial action is expected to last until Thursday evening at 6 p.m.
According to Deutsche Bahn, both long-distance, regional and freight transport are affected. The group assumes that the effects will be felt until operations begin on Friday morning. Only then should traffic run smoothly again. It is the first industrial action in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute between the railways and the GDL.
The union surprisingly announced the warning strike yesterday, Tuesday, just a few days after the first round of negotiations between the two sides in Berlin. During the talks last week, the collective bargaining parties initially agreed on a negotiating schedule with weekly meetings. The next round of negotiations was scheduled for this Thursday and Friday. After the warning strike was announced, the railway canceled the conversation. “Either you strike or you negotiate. You can’t do both at the same time,” said Human Resources Director Martin Seiler. “Anyone who breaks these agreements in this way and calls for strikes at short notice and thereby makes travelers liable cannot expect us to continue to sit at the negotiating table.”
Core requirement: 35-hour week for shift workers
GDL boss Claus Weselsky emphasized that warning strikes during ongoing negotiations were not unusual. “This is a completely normal process in collective bargaining when employees realize that the other side needs help.” At the same time, the GDL announced that it would appear at the hearing on Thursday despite the rail cancellation. But the union president will not be there. He is expected at a rally in Schwerin.
Weselsky justified the warning strike with the railway’s refusal to meet one of the union’s core demands. Among other things, it demands 555 euros more per month as well as a tax- and duty-free inflation compensation bonus for a term of twelve months. The sticking point, however, is the GDL’s demand for a reduction in working hours from 38 to 35 hours per week for shift workers with full wage compensation. The railway rejects this as impossible. In the first round of negotiations, the employers offered, among other things, eleven percent higher wages for a term of 32 months as well as the inflation compensation bonus required by the GDL. The union rejected the offer.