GDL boss Claus Weselsky has already promised new labor disputes, rail boss Richard Lutz is now criticizing the tone in the collective bargaining conflict.
Frankfurt am Main - The last strike of the GDL ended on Wednesday night, but the next wave of strikes may be imminent: The head of the German train drivers' union (GDL) Weselsky had promised further labor disputes on Wednesday if the railway should not improve the tariff offer submit.
The German press agency reported on Sunday.
The head of Deutsche Bahn (DB), Richard Lutz, has now particularly criticized the tone of voice in the wage conflict.
Bahn boss Lutz: "Weselsky hits hard-to-heal wounds"
How GDL boss Claus Weselsky acts and, above all, speaks is “absolute poison for the sense of togetherness of the railway family,” said Bahn boss Lutz to the
editorial network Germany
on Saturday.
“Wounds are being made that are difficult to heal,” Lutz continues.
From Lutz's point of view, the GDL boss is also consciously trying to split the workforce.
Weselsky differentiates between honorable and dishonorable professions at Deutsche Bahn, and with the latter I also differentiate between thousands of executives.
“They gave up a lot of money during the crisis.
To accuse them of stuffing their pockets is dishonest and simply wrong, ”said the Bahn boss.
Deutsche Bahn and GDL: That is the background to the strike
Superficially, the GDL is about more money: The union wants more wages, an increase in table wages based on the model of the public service and a corona bonus. But there is more to the strike: The train drivers' union is also interested in power. The GDL wants to chase away members from the larger railway and transport union (EVG) in order to gain more influence itself, also believes railway boss Lutz. The legislator originally wanted to achieve exactly the opposite with the Unified Collective Bargaining Act: The GDL trade unions and the larger EVG were to be encouraged to work together more, according to the motto “One company - one collective agreement”.
An internal report by Deutsche Bahn shows that 10,000 trains were canceled across Germany on Monday alone, and only around 25 percent of the trains are running. The company loses several million every day of the strike. As early as 2014/2015, the GDL had wrestled with Deutsche Bahn in several waves of strikes, up to and including one of the most recent unlimited collective bargaining strikes. Something similar could happen to train travelers this time as well.
However, especially in times of pandemic, understanding of the strike is limited. Over half of Germans (56 percent) consider the rail strike to be inappropriate. This is the result of a survey by the polling institute Civey. From the point of view of the epidemiologist Hajo Zeeb, the risk of corona infection increases with full trains. That said the scientist from the Bremen Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology of the German Press Agency.