As of: January 19, 2024, 5:19 a.m
By: Mark Stoffers
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Claus Weselsky, chairman of the German Locomotive Drivers' Union (GDL), is the face of the strike.
© Arne Dedert/dpa
GDL boss Claus Weselsky is increasing the number of hits against Deutsche Bahn.
Another rail strike by the train drivers' union could last even longer.
Frankfurt – There is no end in sight to the GDL rail strike.
The chairman of the train drivers' union, Claus Weselsky, speaks out against mediation in the collective bargaining dispute at Deutsche Bahn.
“Constitutional matters” cannot be arbitrated, he told the
Stuttgarter Zeitung
and the
Stuttgarter Nachrichten
.
Next GDL rail strike: Deadlocked negotiations on the collective agreement for dispatchers
In addition to reducing weekly working hours from 38 to 35 hours, one of the train drivers' union's central demands is also the collective agreement for dispatchers.
It is precisely on this point that the negotiations seem to be deadlocked, which could lead to the next GDL rail strike.
“I will not put the question of whether I can get a collective agreement for dispatchers into the hands of an arbitrator,” said Weselsky about the current development in the labor dispute.
The GDL recently increased the pressure on the railway with a three-day strike until Friday evening and is currently waiting for a new offer from Deutsche Bahn.
Weselsky, who himself had missed his train to Berlin due to the GDL rail strike, was convinced that the GDL would also get a collective agreement for dispatchers who coordinate train operations.
Weselsky announced that he would further increase the pressure as the collective bargaining dispute progressed.
New GDL rail strike: Weselsky increases the pressure – “In principle longer and harder”
“In principle, it will be longer and harder – that is the message,” he said, also with regard to the next possible GDL rail strike in the not too distant future.
“I don’t think I’m taking much time.” Weselsky’s statements towards Bahn show how deadlocked the negotiations are at the moment and the fronts could possibly harden even further.
Ultimately, the GDL can tighten the screws even further and intensify the industrial dispute again.
Could an indefinite rail strike by the train drivers' union also be coming to Germany?
Is the GDL threatened with an indefinite rail strike?
“I don’t see any content on offer”
Weselsky apparently does not want to resort to this drastic measure with the GDL.
At least not at first.
However, the union does not want to enter into an indefinite GDL rail strike at this point, “because we see responsibility for the entire system and because we believe that the effects would be too great,” said Weselsky about the possibility of an indefinite GDL rail strike.
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However, an extension of the work stoppage is possible: “Whether I go on strike for three or five days depends on what happens.” The railway has to submit a substantial offer – “and I don’t see any substantive offer coming at the moment.”
Nevertheless, the GDL boss recently had to put up with criticism again for the GDL's rail strike.
Anja Bröker, a spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn, criticized a tactic that “Mr. Weselsky likes to keep quiet about.”
However, it remains questionable whether this circumstance can avert another GDL rail strike.