Train drivers' union GDL and Deutsche Bahn have been negotiating the collective bargaining dispute behind closed doors for weeks - in vain. This time too, the talks failed because of the GDL's core demand for a reduction in weekly working hours for shift workers from 38 to 35 hours.
The railway has so far rejected both points. The GDL paralyzed large parts of rail traffic in Germany a total of four times with two warning strikes and two longer strikes. Long-distance, regional and freight traffic were at a standstill for days.