The background for the criticism is Weselskyās descriptions of a compromise proposal that the former Federal Interior Minister Thomas de MaiziĆØre and Schleswig-Holsteinās Prime Minister Daniel GĆ¼nther (both CDU) submitted as moderators during the weeks of negotiations between the two collective bargaining parties. This envisaged a reduction in weekly working hours in two steps to 36 hours by 2028 with full wage compensation. The railway accepted the proposal. However, the GDL refused. The talks therefore failed last week and the union called for the next strike.
Also read: Claus Weselsky, the man who leads the GDL into strikes
Weselsky presented the mediatorsā proposal differently at a press conference last Monday: They had suggested a reduction to just 37 hours with full wage compensation. A further half hour reduction would have been purely optional and associated with financial losses for the employees. In an interview with the āSĆ¼ddeutsche Zeitungā the following Tuesday, Weselsky admitted that he had made a āmistake in thinkingā with this false representation. But that doesnāt change his attitude, he added.