This warning strike shows the weakness of the railway union
With a warning strike on Friday, the EVG union wants to paralyze rail transport and thus increase the pressure on employers. She is unlikely to achieve much with it. An escalation to the detriment of the customer is therefore possible.
Dhe uncertainty of the railway union EVG is palpable: The second warning strike is by no means a self-confident escalation of the wage dispute. After the large-scale mobility strike coordinated with Ver.di a few weeks ago, there is now a rather small strike of a few hours on Friday morning.
At the EVG it is said that they want to proceed proportionately and protect the passengers as much as possible. But that is at best half the truth.
Rather, the EVG has to contend with several problems even in this early phase of the dispute. On the one hand, there is the tough pace of negotiations that the union has agreed to, because negotiations are being conducted individually with all 50 employers in the rail industry. The result is weeks of pauses between talks with the most important negotiating partner, Deutsche Bahn.
Much more serious, however, is another development for which the union is not responsible, but which is likely to cause them great difficulties in the coming weeks: During the pandemic, many citizens have set themselves up in such a way that in an emergency they can go without a train for a few days. If the ECG goes on strike, you stay in the home office.
The effect of the first strike has therefore largely fizzled out. The union points out that the railway still has a strike because it does not sell tickets and does not transport goods. It may be, but how big is this potential threat in a state-owned company that is already in deficit?
So far, the EVG has achieved little with its strikes. The railway offers an agreement based on the arbitration award for the public service. The union, in turn, describes this as an invalid sham offer, after all, you are conducting a completely different dispute under different conditions than in the public service.
That’s not wrong either. However, the two collective bargaining disputes were linked by the unions, which had joined forces for the traffic strike.
For rail customers, however, the weakening of the EVG also poses a risk: the union could feel compelled to massively escalate the conflict in order to still have an effect and thus achieve a deal that is acceptable for its members. Strikes lasting several days – even during rush hour or holiday periods – are by no means out of the question.
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