From tomorrow, Wednesday, 2 a.m., to Monday, 6 p.m. – almost six days – the German train drivers’ union (GDL) wants to force Deutsche Bahn (DB) to slam on the brakes. The OÖN provides an overview.
Impact on Austria: The Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) announced that this will be the case. ÖBB expects “severe disruption” to train traffic within Germany. The ÖBB recommend postponing trips to Germany. The first night trains will be canceled from today, Tuesday, and the same applies to freight traffic.
The five daily connections to Munich on the mostly private Westbahn are not affected and will run; passengers with a DB or ÖBB ticket can travel from Munich to Salzburg for free, the company said. According to ÖBB and Westbahn, journeys via the Deutsche Eck are not affected.
Why is there a strike? There has been a dispute over wage increases since November. This is the fourth work stoppage in the current collective bargaining dispute. Before the turn of the year, the GDL paralyzed large parts of German passenger traffic in two warning strikes, followed in January by a three-day strike with a similar effect.
What is required? A core demand of the GDL is to reduce the working hours for shift workers from 38 to 35 hours with full wage compensation, plus 555 euros more per month and an inflation compensation bonus for a twelve-month period. The GDL declared the talks to have failed following the second round of negotiations. There have been no negotiations since November 24th.
What is the offer? The DB is offering 4.8 percent more money for employees from August and a further five percent more from April 2025, plus an inflation compensation bonus. The degree should be valid for 32 months. The DB 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 2026. Those who don’t want that would get 2.7 percent more, a total of 13 percent more gross, the DB calculates.
How can things continue? GDL boss Claus Weselsky says that the third offer only appears to be an improvement; he sees a “denial and confrontational course” from the DB. This speaks of irresponsible behavior in not wanting to return to the negotiating table. According to a vote among GDL members, indefinite strikes are also possible.
