As of: January 24, 2024, 12:13 p.m
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Almost empty tracks at Hamburg Central Station.
© Bodo Marks/dpa
German rail traffic comes to a standstill when the GDL wants it: the train drivers' union is on strike for the fourth time in the ongoing rail tariff dispute.
The impact is significant and dissatisfaction with employees' actions is growing.
Berlin - With its fourth industrial action in the ongoing rail tariff dispute, the German Locomotive Drivers' Union (GDL) is once again paralyzing large parts of rail traffic in Germany.
The strike is expected to last until Monday evening.
For almost six days, passengers and the economy will have to adapt to far-reaching restrictions on long-distance, regional and freight transport.
It is unlikely that this will be the last industrial dispute in the current collective bargaining dispute.
The tone between the railways and the GDL is currently too unforgiving, their positions are too far apart.
Disputes over working hours characterize the conflict
The crux of the negotiations is the GDL's demand for a reduction in working hours for employees in shift work.
Train drivers and train attendants in particular are organized in the GDL.
Your weekly working hours should decrease from 38 to 35 hours without you having to give up any money.
The union further specified its demands in a letter to Deutsche Bahn.
The German Locomotive Drivers' Union (GDL) has called for another multi-day strike at Deutsche Bahn.
© Christoph Soeder/dpa
“The proposals are based on the collective agreements that we have been able to reach with our collective bargaining partners in recent weeks,” says the letter that the GDL published on Wednesday.
The reduction in working hours should therefore be implemented gradually, with the final step taking place on January 1, 2028.
The railway rejected the GDL's proposals as a basis for further negotiations.
It is simply a “repetition of well-known maximum demands,” said a spokeswoman on Wednesday morning.
“What Deutsche Bahn AG is doing is nothing other than the repeated rejection of all demands,” criticized GDL boss Claus Weselsky on Wednesday in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”.
The train only moves millimeters.
When asked when the union would negotiate again, the trade unionist said: “As soon as Deutsche Bahn comes down from its high horse.”
Transport Minister calls for mediation
After the second round of negotiations, the GDL declared the talks with the railways to have failed.
There have been no negotiations since November.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) called on the union on Wednesday to find a solution through mediation with an external mediator.
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Don't get in: The GDL's fourth and longest strike to date in the collective bargaining dispute has begun.
© Boris Roessler/dpa
The FDP politician said on Deutschlandfunk on Wednesday that he expects the union to take responsibility and come to the negotiating table.
“And if things are so deadlocked that we can obviously no longer talk to each other, then we urgently need mediation or an arbitration procedure.” However, the minister also believes that the chances of arbitration are currently low.
The GDL continues to reject such a procedure.
Dissatisfaction is growing
Meanwhile, dissatisfaction is growing not only in the economy and among passengers.
The Alliance for Rail interest group, of which the GDL is a member but which is also supported by the railway, also criticized the employees' approach.
“The frequent and increasingly longer strikes on the rails are a hindrance to the transport turnaround,” said association managing director Dirk Flege on Wednesday.
“Trust is being destroyed both in the economy and among travelers.” He would like to see a verbal disarmament.
Flege also spoke out in favor of arbitration.
Economy fears major damage
The strike also leads to significant restrictions in freight transport.
“European freight traffic across the Alps, Poland or to Scandinavia as well as the sea ports in Holland or Belgium are also affected,” the railway said.
Even before the strike, a significant decline in volumes had been recorded because many customers had canceled transport.
Empty tracks: Passengers will have to come to terms with significant restrictions on long-distance and regional transport in the next few days.
© Boris Roessler/dpa
Companies are threatened with severe restrictions, including individual production downtimes, cutbacks and standstills in industry, said Tanja Gönner, the managing director of the Federal Association of German Industries.
“In a six-day strike, a total damage amount of up to one billion euros is not unrealistic.”
Emergency schedule started safely
Deutsche Bahn has once again created an emergency timetable for passengers in passenger transport.
The railway said it started stable on Wednesday morning.
The timetable is intended to provide a greatly reduced but reliable offer.
Passengers can find out about their journey via the railway website or the “DB-Navigator” app.
The railway has also set up an information telephone number.
The train connection is canceled for journeys booked during the strike period.
Customers can therefore postpone their trips to a later date.
Longest GDL strike
The rail strike is scheduled to last until Monday evening at 6 p.m.
Restrictions can still be expected afterwards.
The GDL's fourth industrial dispute in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute with the federally owned company is "the longest in the history of Deutsche Bahn," said the spokeswoman.
It should last 136 hours for passenger traffic and 144 hours for freight traffic.
For the first time in the current conflict, the strike also covers a complete weekend.
dpa