DThe longest strike by Knight and railway customers to date: The train drivers’ union GDL has called for a five-day strike on Deutsche Bahn’s passenger transport from 2am this Thursday to Tuesday morning next week. In terms of freight, the strike will begin this Wednesday.
The chairman of the union, Klaus Wesselski, said in Frankfurt am Main on Monday: “This is one of the longest industrial actions we have undertaken, and it is purposeful.” “Given the blocking attitude of the DB manager, We don’t think we are ready or willing to carry out shorter industrial actions here.”
The German Locomotive Drivers Union (GDL) advocates providing employees with higher wages and better working conditions. GDL also hopes to score points in the competition with the larger of the two railway unions, the Railway and Transportation Union (EVG).
No way
Labor disputes will affect hundreds of thousands of commuters and countless passengers. Holidays are coming, and there are still school holidays in several federal states.
The most recent strike ended on Wednesday night last week. The train responds to the emergency schedule. In long-distance traffic, up to 30% of the quotation can be maintained, and in regional traffic including S-Bahn, the average is 40%. The day after the last strike, traffic basically returned to normal.
Since then, there has been no settlement with management in collective bargaining disputes. In interviews over the past few days, railway boss Richard Lutz has called on the union to return to the negotiating table. At the same time, he accused GDL Chairman Claus Weselsky of splitting the workforce with false statements.
Wesselski replied on Monday that the railway was launching a war on its own employees and was unable to win. Regarding Lutz’s remarks, he said: “To put it mildly, we miss what the CEO said.”
The Corona Premium Controversy
The railway hopes to increase wages and salaries by 3.2% as required by GDL. However, when the individual level should take effect and how long the new collective agreement should apply is controversial.
The railway also provided this year’s corona bonus, but did not specify. GDL requires 600 euros. There is also the struggle over company pensions; here the two sides have not yet moved towards each other.
The union hopes to expand its influence in the railway company. Before this round of collective bargaining, the last time she worked for Deutsche Bahn was in 2014 and 2015. Therefore, she also managed to negotiate a framework tariff for the train crew. Now it is necessary to formulate vehicle maintenance fees, network operation fees, line maintenance fees, and framework conditions for trainees.
However, this usually represents EVG, which is why Deutsche Bahn refused to do so. Because according to the collective bargaining law, it applies to the contract of the trade union with the most members in the respective company.
