Saturday, August 28, 2021
“Wounds that are difficult to heal”
Railway chief: Weselsky divides the workforce
Bahn and GDL are in a bitter tariff dispute. In an interview, rail boss Lutz now rates statements by union chief Weselsky as “an absolute poison for the company’s feeling of togetherness”. Lutz holds against Weselsky that he got lost in the GDL expansion.
The head of Deutsche Bahn, Richard Lutz, has sharply criticized the tone in the collective bargaining conflict with the train drivers’ union GDL. How GDL boss Claus Weselsky acts and, above all, speaks, is “absolute poison for the feeling of togetherness of the railway family,” said Lutz to the editorial network in Germany. “Wounds are being made that are difficult to heal.”
Weselsky differentiates between honorable and dishonorable professions at Deutsche Bahn, and with the latter I also differentiate between thousands of executives. “They lost a lot of money during the crisis. To accuse them of stuffing their pockets is dishonest and simply wrong.” The GDL boss consciously tries to split the workforce.
Weselsky had announced further labor disputes on Wednesday if the railway did not present an improved tariff offer. For now, however, the train is back on schedule. The second strike of the month ended on Wednesday night.
“If it were only about tariff issues, we would have an agreement quickly,” said Lutz. In truth, however, the GDL wants to hunt down members from the larger railway and transport union (EVG) in order to gain more influence itself. “The GDL top has got lost with its expansion strategy,” said Lutz.
The railway boss also emphasized that the company will soon be looking more intensively for a buyer for its foreign subsidiary, Arriva, which is making a loss. “Without Corona we would be further with the Arriva sale,” said Lutz. “We now hope that we will find our way back into a phase of economic stability next year, and then we will intensify our sales activities again.” Arriva operates buses and trains in several countries, including Italy and Spain, where Corona hit the office in particular. Deutsche Bahn has been planning to sell its weak international business for a long time, but it has not yet found anyone interested.
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