2023-11-15 22:20:00
15.11.2023 23:20
(Akt. 15.11.2023 23:30)
The union called for a 20-hour warning strike ©APA/dpa
Rail travelers in Germany have to prepare for massive restrictions due to a 20-hour warning strike by the train drivers’ union GDL on Thursday. The strike began on Wednesday evening at 10 p.m. and will last until Thursday at 6 p.m. Deutsche Bahn has drawn up an emergency timetable; it assumes that “less than 20 percent of ICE and IC trains” and hardly any regional trains will run on Thursday. ÖBB trains are also affected.
A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn confirmed late on Wednesday evening that the warning strike was underway. In advance, the company advised passengers to postpone non-essential trips and referred to goodwill rules for using booked tickets on its website. According to oebb.at, nine night trains are canceled at ÖBB. A further nine night trains and several long-distance trains to and from Germany will be operated on a short-time basis.
The intra-Austrian daytime traffic between Salzburg and Tyrol via the Deutsches Eck is not affected, but due to the construction site there are diversions and trains that run as rail replacement services. The Westbahn trains between Munich and Vienna are also not affected by the strike.
It is the first industrial action in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute between the railways and the GDL. The union surprisingly announced the warning strike on Tuesday, just a few days following the first round of negotiations between the two sides in Berlin. During the talks last week, the collective bargaining parties initially agreed on a negotiating schedule with weekly meetings.
The next round of negotiations was scheduled for this Thursday and Friday. After the warning strike was announced, the railway canceled the conversation. “Either you strike or you negotiate. You can’t do both at the same time,” said Human Resources Director Martin Seiler. “Anyone who breaks these agreements in this way and calls for strikes at short notice and thereby makes travelers liable cannot expect us to continue to sit at the negotiating table.”
GDL boss Claus Weselsky emphasized that warning strikes during ongoing negotiations were not unusual. “This is a completely normal process in collective bargaining when employees realize that the other side needs help.” At the same time, the GDL announced that it would appear at the hearing on Thursday despite the rail cancellation. But the union president will not be there. He is expected at a rally in Schwerin.
Weselsky justified the warning strike with Deutsche Bahn’s refusal to meet one of the union’s core demands. Among other things, it demands 555 euros more per month as well as a tax- and duty-free inflation compensation bonus for a term of twelve months. The sticking point, however, is the GDL’s demand for a reduction in working hours from 38 to 35 hours per week for shift workers with full wage compensation. The railway rejects this as impossible.
In the first round of negotiations, the employers offered, among other things, eleven percent higher wages for a term of 32 months as well as the inflation compensation bonus required by the GDL. The union rejected the offer.
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