As of: January 22, 2024 7:42 a.m
The train drivers’ union GDL has called on Deutsche Bahn employees to go on strike again. The union announced that this will begin in passenger transport on Wednesday at 2 a.m. and last until Monday next week at 6 p.m.
The union members at DB Cargo, which is responsible for freight transport, have been called on strike from Tuesday at 6 p.m. Commuters are facing difficult days again with thousands of train cancellations expected.
It was only on Friday that Deutsche Bahn presented a new tariff offer to bring the GDL back to the negotiating table. This also includes, among other things, an option for one hour less working time for train drivers and train attendants from January 1, 2026. However, this was apparently not enough for new negotiations. “With the third and supposedly improved offer, Deutsche Bahn AG has once again shown that it is undeterred in pursuing its previous course of refusal and confrontation – there is no trace of any desire to reach agreement,” said the GDL statement.
Bahn calls the plans “irresponsible”
Deutsche Bahn (DB) has sharply criticized the GDL’s renewed strike announcement. “The DB relies on compromises, the GDL is exaggerating the conflict,” explained a railway spokesman this morning. “Anyone who doesn’t even come to the negotiating table with a new offer with up to 13 percent and the possibility of a 37-hour week with the same salary is acting absolutely irresponsibly.”
The fourth strike in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute
The now announced industrial action would be the fourth in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute. Before the turn of the year, the GDL paralyzed large parts of passenger traffic in two warning strikes, followed in January by a three-day strike with a similar effect. DB human resources director Martin Seiler criticized on Friday that the GDL did not use strikes as a last resort, but rather as a means of self-promotion.
The railway’s offer presented on Friday provides 4.8 percent more money for employees from August and a further five percent more from April 2025. In addition, payment of the inflation compensation premium is planned immediately after a possible collective bargaining agreement. According to the DB offer, the term should be 32 months. The railway is also offering train drivers and train attendants the opportunity to reduce their working hours from 38 to 37 hours with the same salary from January 1, 2026. According to the offer, anyone who decides against the reduction will instead receive 2.7 percent more money. In total, the employees who stick with their current working hours received 13 percent more gross money with the offer than they do now. The GDL demands 555 euros more per month as well as an inflation compensation bonus for a twelve-month term.
Further information
3 Min
In the ongoing collective bargaining dispute, the company is offering the union, among other things, another choice model for working hours. 3 mins
After the three-day GDL strike, the railway is back on the normal timetable. However, travelers may still need a little patience on the weekend. more
The strike is scheduled to last until Friday. The train driver explains why he thinks higher pay and shorter working hours are appropriate. more
Two railway workers from Schleswig-Holstein explain why they are on strike and what is more important to them than money. more
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NDR Info | Current | 01/22/2024 | 6:35 a.m