Sunday 22nd August 2021
Restrictions from Monday
GDL: Railway strike takes place despite the offer
The offer from Deutsche Bahn is not worth the paper on which it is written – GDL boss Weselsky rejects an offer from Deutsche Bahn with hearty words. The train drivers’ union will therefore implement its strike in passenger transport planned from Monday as planned.
For the second time this month, Deutsche Bahn passengers have to endure a strike this Monday and Tuesday. The train drivers’ union GDL is increasing the pressure in the collective bargaining conflict at the state company. The railway failed on Sunday when it tried to avert the strike in passenger traffic. She agreed to negotiate a corona bonus for employees. However, the GDL sees this as a “sham offer” and is extending its strike as planned. She has been striking the freight traffic since Saturday.
During the strike, Deutsche Bahn wants to offer around a quarter of the normal long-distance timetable. In regional and S-Bahn traffic, it targets around 40 percent of train traffic on average. Again the east is likely to be more affected than the west. The DB S-Bahn trains are also on strike. For Wednesday, the railway expects a largely normal process again.
Bahn personnel director Martin Seiler appealed to the GDL again on Sunday afternoon to resume negotiations. “We don’t come to the negotiating table empty-handed.” The railway is ready to also negotiate a corona premium this year. “Now it is the GDL’s turn to react and then let the strike be in shape.”
GDL accuses Bahn of trickery
But the GDL could not be moved and accused the railway of cheating. Union leader Claus Weselsky criticized on Sunday evening that the offer was not worth the paper on which it was written. He called for a concrete offer, “not the” prospect of “an offer”. In truth, the railway board did not move a millimeter. “The present offer is just another smoke candle and another attempt to fool the public.”
The GDL had demanded, among other things, a corona premium of 600 euros. The points of contention in the collective bargaining dispute also include the increase in table wages and the duration of the collective agreement. There is also a dispute about retirement provision. According to the railway, the strike in the freight traffic started quietly; According to the company, traffic there is usually relatively low on weekends. Only in the course of Sunday did the backwater reach the shunting facilities. If industrial production is ramped up nationwide on Monday, more significant disruptions and delays of the cargo trains are to be expected, the railway said.
“System and supply-relevant trains will continue to be prioritized by the central workforce of DB Cargo and have so far reached their destination – also with the help of our partner railways.” More than half of the goods by rail are not transported by Deutsche Bahn.
BME: Strike exacerbates bottlenecks in industry
From the point of view of the Federal Association of Materials Management, Purchasing and Logistics (BME), the freight transport strike is further exacerbating the bottlenecks in the industry. “Sooner or later, consumers should feel that too, for example when building or buying a car,” said BME logistics expert Carsten Knauer of the German press agency. The shortage of chips or material bottlenecks, such as with wood in construction, are already causing problems for the respective industries.
The strike would add another problem for the sectors that rely primarily on rail for their supply chains. According to Knauer, this includes the steel and chemical industries as well as the automotive industry. There are hardly any transport alternatives, for example in the case of rail competition, or on the road. “Every mode of transport is totally overbooked and the prices are going through the roof,” said Knauer. “It is currently practically impossible in the short term to shift traffic onto the road.”
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