The GDL rail strike will last until September 7th. One can only hope that all customers will come back afterwards, says the transport alliance Allianz pro Schiene.
- The fronts in the collective bargaining between Deutsche Bahn (DB) * and the Union of German Locomotive Drivers (GDL) have hardened.
- GDL boss Claus Weselsky * does not want to end the rail strike until September 7th.
- There is criticism of the approach from the DGB and the politicians.
Berlin – Since there is no agreement in the collective bargaining conflict between Deutsche Bahn and GDL, the rail strike in Germany will continue – probably until Tuesday (07.09.2021). GDL boss Claus Weselsky has been criticized from numerous quarters, and parts of the union camp also pass a negative judgment.
DGB boss Reiner Hoffmann spoke out against the behavior of the GDL and called on the train drivers’ union to return to the negotiating table. “What we see critically is that here a professional group like the train driver asserts its particular interests against the overall interests of all other railway employees,” said Hoffmann of the Rheinische Post. The GDL belongs to the German Federation of Officials (dbb) and not to the German Federation of Trade Unions (DGB), which is the largest umbrella organization of the trade unions in Germany.
Strike at Deutsche Bahn (DB): DGB criticizes GDL with clear words
Although the differences between the union and the railway are not very great, Claus Weselsky refuses to return to the negotiating table. “Essentially, GDL boss Weselsky is about maintaining his union (…) and expanding its sphere of influence in order to gain more members in this way,” said Hoffmann. So far, the GDL is only able to negotiate collective agreements in 16 of the more than 300 railway companies, the larger DGB transport union EVG is responsible for all others. “With Mr. Weselsky and the GDL, it’s all about survival,” says Hoffmann.
The managing director of the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), Oliver Wolff, told the dpa news agency: “We are experiencing that passengers no longer have any understanding of the duration of the strikes and the GDL’s persistence in not returning to the negotiating table. In this respect, the VDV, on behalf of the industry, calls on the GDL to resume negotiations and to restore traffic as quickly as possible in the interests of the rail customers. “
The managing director of the transport alliance Allianz pro Schiene, Dirk Flege, said: “In the interests of the millions of rail customers * as well as climate protection *, I can only hope that this labor dispute will soon end.” One can only hope that all rail customers will come come back from the strike. “Rail traffic was just about to pick up speed again after the severe slump caused by the Corona crisis *. The next blow comes with the long strike. The truck is booming in freight transport – according to initial estimates, the market share of rail has even recently fallen. And in passenger transport, we saw during the pandemic that many people switched to cars. ”Now would actually be the time to start the race to catch up after the severe Corona phase.
Violence of the GDL rail strike “not understandable for most outsiders”
Politicians also criticized the ongoing rail strike. “A lack of predictability makes the railways less attractive and thus significantly damages the desired shift towards rail travel,” said the FDP * transport politician Oliver Luksic of the dpa. Freedom of collective bargaining and the right to strike are a great asset. “However, I would like everyone involved to adopt a solution-oriented, objective approach. If the conflicting parties still cannot come to an agreement, a new arbitrator has to be called on, ”said Luksic.
The Green * parliamentary group vice-president Oliver Krischer said: “Most outsiders cannot understand the severity of the strike. This is carried out on the customer’s back. I do not hope that customers will be scared off by the strike and that they will increasingly switch to buses and cars in the future. “
The economic wing of the CDU / CSU * demanded stricter specifications for industrial action in train and air traffic. This should include a notification requirement of at least four days, according to a board resolution of the Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsunion (MIT), which the dpa has received. Regulations for maintaining basic services and mandatory arbitration before collective bargaining fails are also essential.
GDL rail strike: 60 percent of DB trains in local transport fail
The GDL wants to continue the strike at Deutsche Bahn after the victory in court until the planned end on Tuesday at 2 a.m. According to information provided by Deutsche Bahn, the replacement service “started as planned” on Saturday (04.09.2021), but the company repeated its advice to passengers to postpone trips if possible. Over the weekend, the railway wants to offer 30 percent of the trains in long-distance traffic, on the previous days of the strike it was 25 percent. Around 40 percent of trains are used in local transport.
According to DB, 6,057 of a total of around 19,700 DB train drivers have stopped working since the start of the latest wave of strikes on Wednesday (September 1st, 2021). Employees of the rail infrastructure companies, however, “hardly” went on strike. (tvd / dpa / AFP) * fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
List of rubric lists: © Sebastian Willnow / dpa
