As of: February 29, 2024, 6:04 p.m
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Claus Weselsky, Chairman of the German Locomotive Drivers' Union (GDL).
© Robert Michael/dpa
The train drivers' union GDL and Deutsche Bahn have been negotiating the collective bargaining dispute behind closed doors for weeks - in vain.
Even mediators couldn't help.
Berlin - Passengers have to worry again: After the resumption of collective bargaining between Deutsche Bahn and the GDL union broke down, there is a risk of long strikes in rail transport again.
When is there a risk of labor disputes?
From next Monday, passengers will again have to prepare for strikes lasting several days in nationwide rail transport.
With the resumption of collective bargaining around four weeks ago, the German Locomotive Drivers' Union (GDL) committed to a strike break that will last up to and including this Sunday.
The union has announced a press conference for Monday at which it wants to provide information about the status of things and how to proceed.
What happened?
After the early failure of the collective bargaining round in November last year and several strikes, both sides pulled themselves together again around four weeks ago and returned to the negotiating table.
Since then, intensive discussions have taken place behind closed doors.
No information was leaked - neither about the mood between the negotiators nor about the state of affairs.
The talks were actually supposed to last until March 3rd.
Today the railway surprisingly announced that the negotiations had failed.
The GDL canceled this.
“We were prepared to take steps to reduce working hours that went far beyond our last offer,” said DB Human Resources Director Martin Seiler.
“It is unbelievable that the train drivers’ union is still standing up from the table and thus threatening further strikes for customers.”
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On Thursday, the union again accused the railway of not adhering to the agreed silence: “This information was deliberately leaked by DB management in order to then pin it on the union side,” the union said.
Why did the talks fail?
According to Bahn, the decisive factor for the failure was once again the GDL's demand for a reduction in weekly working hours from 38 to 35 hours for shift workers with the same salary.
Since the collective bargaining round began in November, this core demand has been the sticking point in the negotiations.
Even external mediators have been unable to reach a compromise in recent weeks.
The negotiations were moderated by former Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière and Daniel Günther, the Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein, the railway said.
Such arbitration has often led to success in previous collective bargaining rounds.
Not this time.
How does it go from here?
“The DB is now assessing the current situation and examining the next steps,” the railway announced on Thursday.
The GDL announced that it would stick to the agreements.
This should also include the self-imposed peace obligation up to and including this Sunday.
The union wants to inform about further action on Monday.
Strikes are considered likely.
How both sides can return to the negotiating table is currently completely unclear.
How many strikes have there been so far?
The GDL has paralyzed large parts of rail traffic in Germany a total of four times so far, with two warning strikes and two longer strikes.
Long-distance, regional and freight traffic were at a standstill for days.
The union ended the most recent labor dispute at the end of January early and surprisingly returned to the negotiating table.
dpa