GdL strike: Weselsky rejects new offer – Deutsche Bahn goes to court

Deutsche Bahn is on strike. The labor dispute between the company and the train drivers’ union continues. All information in the news ticker.

+++ 10.05 a.m.: The Deutsche Bahn takes legal action against the strike of the locomotive driver company GDL. According to information from the DPA, the group had one in front of the labor court in Frankfurt am Main on Thursday
Application for an injunction against the industrial action

+++ 09.45 a.m.: After Claus Weselsky (GDL) had confirmed that the rail strike would continue (see message 06.55 a.m.), He expressed himself in a press conference on the substantive reasons for the decision. With the new offer from yesterday evening, the “hypocrisy” was confirmed in writing. It should be noted that there should be “first and second class members” within the GDL in the future. “That can’t and shouldn’t happen,” says Weseslky.

Rail strike is set: Weselsky insists on Corona premium

The offer only included the required corona premium of 600 euros and a wage increase, but not for this year. Weselsky named the continuation of a company pension scheme and collective bargaining agreements as a broad content issue.

+++ 06.55 a.m.: Despite an improved offer from Deutsche Bahn (DB), the rail strike continues. This was confirmed by the chairman of the German train drivers’ union (GDL), Claus Weselsky, in the ARD * morning magazine. “The bad news for rail customers: the strike continues,” said Weselsky. “This offer cannot be accepted by anyone and, above all, by a trade union in the world,” he continued.

A rail spokeswoman had previously reacted disappointedly to the decision to go on strike despite a new tariff offer from Deutsche Bahn: “We regret that the GDL strike is now running despite the new offer from DB,” said Katja Stumpp. Since the start of the strike, a replacement timetable has now applied again.

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Update from Thursday, September 2nd, 2021, 5.25 a.m.: The strike in passenger traffic started as planned at 2 a.m. despite a new offer from Deutsche Bahn (see message from Wednesday, 6.10 p.m.). Freight traffic has been on strike since Wednesday afternoon. Until the early hours of the morning there was no official response from the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) to the advance from the railway headquarters.

If there is no further movement in the tariff conflict, rail customers will have to be prepared for extensive restrictions in long-distance and regional transport by Deutsche Bahn by September 7th. The group had announced that it would run around every fourth long-distance train. In regional and S-Bahn traffic, around 40 percent of the usual range should be available. The GDL is planning the longest labor dispute to date in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute.

During the night it was still open whether the GDL would at least shorten the strike due to the offer. The last round of negotiations between the two sides was almost three months ago.

+++ 6.10 p.m.: After the train drivers’ union GDL announced another strike, Deutsche Bahn made a new offer to its employees: Up to 600 euros corona bonus and a term of the collective agreement of 36 instead of 40 months are the new conditions with which the management Deutsche Bahn finally wants to continue negotiations with the union. This was announced on Wednesday evening in Berlin, board member for human resources Martin Seiler. He called on the GDL again to return to the negotiating table. A reaction from the union is still pending.

This had called for a collective agreement term of 29 months and the payment of a first tariff level of 1.7 percent in the current year. The union had started the freight transport strike on Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday morning at 2 a.m., the labor dispute is to be expanded to include passenger traffic. This time, the strike is expected to last more than five days. It was initially unclear whether the railway could still prevent the industrial action with the renewed advance.

Deutsche Bahn: The third rail strike begins on Wednesday, followed by passenger traffic on Thursday night

Update from Wednesday, September 1st, 2021, 8.00 a.m.: Today, Wednesday, the third GDL strike starts. Starting in the afternoon, freight traffic (DB Cargo) is to be on strike, and finally passenger traffic will be on strike from Thursday night. The measure should last for five days, GDL boss Claus Weselsky recently emphasized. In addition, he refused a new attempt at arbitration and described the offers from Deutsche Bahn as “sham offers”: “The railway is only trying to gain time,” said Weselsky to the Augsburger Allgemeine. Left parliamentary group leader Dietmar Bartsch recently brought an attempt at arbitration outside of collective bargaining: Chancellor Angela Merkel should intervene.

Deutsche Bahn: New strikes – travelers need to know that now

The renewed strike hits the travelers in Germany hardest: For five days, until Tuesday, there will be sometimes massive train cancellations or delays in the DB network. As always with strikes, Deutsche Bahn reacts with an emergency schedule, which only covers the most important connections. A quarter of the trains should run, emphasized those responsible. The most important things for travelers at a glance:

The GDL announced details of the new strikes at a press conference on Monday evening – you can read the news ticker below.

+++ 6:35 p.m.: In response to the GDL’s strike announcement, Deutsche Bahn announced that rail customers can use all tickets they have already purchased for the strike period between September 2nd and 7th flexibly and without being tied to a train. All journeys beyond the period up to September 17th remain valid. Anyone who has to cancel their train journey due to the strike will be reimbursed the entire fare. With these measures, which were already implemented during the two waves of strikes in August, the company is trying to dampen the consequences for customers.

Despite the goodwill regulation, the Pro Bahn passenger association, according to information from the German Press Agency, is now critical of the GDL’s approach. Honorary chairman Karl-Peter Naumann demanded that one must be careful when exercising one’s right to strike. According to Naumann, this is no longer the case with the GDL. Instead, the strike is damaging not only the reputation of the railroad, but also the progress made in the area of the targeted traffic turnaround. Naumann: “I know enough people who say: If things continue like this, then that’s it with train travel.”

Deutsche Bahn: New strikes announced – DB with announcement

+++ 5.45 p.m.: In a press release, Deutsche Bahn describes the third wave of strikes announced by the GDL as excessive and “not justified by anything”. The GDL is making both customers and employees the victims of their power interests out of organizational policy calculations, according to the verdict of the management of Deutsche Bahn. In response to Weselsky’s demand for a better offer in the collective bargaining dispute, Bahn Personnel Director Martin Seiler said: “A collective bargaining agreement is reached through negotiations and cannot be dictated. If the GDL really wants a solution, then it must finally come to the table. “

For the strike schedule in passenger traffic between Thursday (02.09.2021), 2 a.m., and Tuesday (07.09.2021), 2 a.m., Deutsche Bahn has announced that it will again maintain around a quarter of the offer in long-distance transport for customers. In local and S-Bahn traffic one tries again to get around 40 percent of the trains on the tracks. In its press release, however, Deutsche Bahn is already warning that the stability of the timetable could “fluctuate greatly” depending on the region.

Deutsche Bahn (DB): GDL announces longest strike of the year so far

+++ 17.35 p.m.: On five consecutive days, the third rail strike will affect hundreds of thousands of commuters and travelers again within a few weeks – because in some countries there are still school holidays. With the repeated stoppage of work, the Union of German Locomotive Drivers (GDL) is campaigning for higher pay and better working conditions for employees.

“It is one of the longest industrial action that we carry out and that on purpose,” said union chairman Claus Weselsky on Monday in Frankfurt am Main. “In view of the blockade attitude of the DB managers, we do not see ourselves ready and unwilling to carry out shorter industrial action here.”

Deutsche Bahn: New GDL strikes announced between September 1st and 7th

+++ 5.15 p.m.: GDL boss Claus Weselsky justifies the significantly longer duration of the strike by saying that the union wants to send a clear signal with its third strike of the year to force the management of Deutsche Bahn to give in and to make a new, specific offer. Weselsky does not consider Deutsche Bahn’s willingness to pay an unspecified corona premium to employees to be acceptable. Weselsky said that Deutsche Bahn would be asked to provide an incentive to return to the negotiating table. Currently, the GDL leadership sees no reason to re-enter the collective bargaining.

+++ 5 p.m.: At a press conference in Frankfurt am Main, GDL boss Claus Weselsky announced further strikes by the train drivers. From Wednesday, September 1, 2021, 5 p.m. to September 7, 2021, 2 a.m., thousands of Deutsche Bahn employees will go back to work. The third GDL train driver: inside strike begins again in freight traffic, on Thursday, September 2nd, 2021, from 2 a.m. passenger traffic will follow. This means that Deutsche Bahn has to present a strike schedule again and grant passengers flexible rebooking and cancellation conditions.

New strikes in rail traffic expected: GDL boss Weselsky gives press conference

+++ 4.45 p.m.: In a few minutes, GDL boss Claus Weselsky wants to speak at a press conference. According to the announcement, the topic will be about how to proceed in the collective bargaining process. The fronts with Deutsche Bahn are currently hardened. We report live from the press conference.

First report from Monday, 08/30/2021, 3:30 p.m .: Frankfurt – The collective bargaining between the GDL and Deutsche Bahn continues. Most recently, Claus Weselsky, head of the train drivers’ union, announced that there could be another strike. The GDL will provide information on how to proceed on Monday afternoon (08/30/2021). A press conference with GDL boss Claus Weselsky is planned for 5 p.m., as the GDL explained on Monday.

The union had already had two rounds of strikes in the past few weeks. The fronts are hardened. In response to Weselsky’s request for an improved offer, Richard Lutz, head of Deutsche Bahn, emphasized that this would not happen.

Deutsche Bahn: New GDL Strikes?

The GDL is calling for a wage increase of 3.2 percent as well as a Corona * bonus of 600 euros and better working conditions. The railway offers 3.2 percent more wages, but wants to implement the levels later and demands a longer term of the collective agreement.

The company had also offered negotiations about a corona bonus, but did not give a specific number. The GDL rejected this as a “sham offer”. (tu / ska with dpa / AFP) * fr.de and fnp.de are offers from IPPEN.MEDIA.

Rubriklistenbild: © Sebastian Willnow