A court has ruled against the lawsuit of Deutsche Bahn, the strike of the train drivers can continue for the time being.
Frankfurt / Main - The train drivers' strike at Deutsche Bahn can continue for the time being.
The labor court in Frankfurt rejected an injunction on Thursday evening with which the railway wanted to stop the labor dispute.
Previously, the attempt by the presiding judge Volker Schulze to bring both sides back to the negotiating table with a settlement had failed.
The Union of German Locomotive Drivers (GDL) refused to enter into talks before all of its demands from last May were met.
The decision of the court can be appealed to the regional labor court in Frankfurt.
Negotiations would presumably be held there on Friday.
At first it was unclear whether the railway would appeal.
Labor court rejects injunction against train drivers' strike: Improved offer initially rejected
The GDL rejected an improved offer from the group management on Wednesday, refused negotiations and continued their third round of strikes.
Since Thursday morning, rail passenger transport has also been on strike nationwide.
The strike began on Wednesday afternoon in freight traffic and is expected to end on Tuesday after five days.
The GDL chairman Claus Weselsky rejected the improved rail tariff offer because it should not apply to all GDL members.
According to his presentation, the state-owned company demands that the scope of a new collective agreement be limited to drivers, as before.
"This makes it clear that DB wants to withdraw some of the GDL members' constitutional rights," the unionist told "Spiegel".
This threatens to split the union with first and second class members.
Court rejects order against strike: GDL in competition with EVG
"The aim of the railway board is to destroy the existence of the GDL", Weselsky had already declared on Thursday morning in Leipzig.
With around 38,000 members, the GDL sees itself in fierce competition with the larger rail and transport union EVG.
According to the unified collective bargaining law passed in 2015, only the collective agreement of the larger employee representation should apply to two unions in one company.
This principle is called “one company - one collective agreement”.
In the majority of the 300 or so railway companies, this is the EVG from the railway's point of view.
(dpa)
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