As of: March 7, 2024, 8:50 a.m
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A signal is red at Frankfurt Central Station. The GDL strike is scheduled to last until Friday afternoon at 1 p.m.
© Andreas Arnold/dpa
Hardly anyone at the station, hardly a train on the rails: the fifth GDL industrial action in passenger transport is almost a familiar ritual for the railway and its passengers.
But that could change soon.
Berlin - The fifth industrial action by the German Locomotive Drivers' Union has been going on since early Thursday morning and is once again affecting millions of passengers.
“Our timetable, our basic range of trains started this morning as planned,” said railway spokesman Achim Stauß in Berlin this morning.
As with the previous strikes, the company has drawn up a severely restricted timetable.
Around every fifth long-distance train is on the way.
As with previous strikes, passengers were prepared.
“Like here at Berlin Central Station, there is not much going on at the stations today,” said the spokesman.
That will also be the case on Friday.
The strike is officially scheduled to last until 1 p.m. that day.
The restricted timetable will apply throughout Friday, it said.
The railway does not intend to operate the full range of trains again until Saturday.
It can therefore be assumed that there will be a lot of catching up to do over the weekend.
“The DB Intercity and ICE trains will then be quite full.” Railway spokesman Stauß recommended seat reservations, especially for Saturday.
Uncertainty only begins after the strike
It is the GDL's fifth industrial dispute in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute with the railways and possibly the last that follows the usual pattern with a two-day advance warning and an emergency timetable.
Union leader Claus Weselsky wants to rely on so-called wave strikes in the future.
The strikes should be announced at much shorter notice.
“Then we cannot organize a train service,” emphasized Stauß.
Weselsky himself recently said that the train would then no longer be a reliable means of transport.
The company therefore called on the union to continue to give at least 48 hours' notice of strikes.
“Anything else is unreasonable for passengers and also for the economy.” The strike affects not only passenger transport, but also freight transport.
The GDL strike has been going on there since Wednesday evening and is leading to significant restrictions for the group's industrial customers.
GDL wants a 35-hour week with full pay
The collective bargaining dispute has been simmering for months and primarily revolves around the GDL's demand for a reduction in weekly working hours from the current 38 to 35 hours for shift workers without financial losses.
A negotiation phase lasting several weeks behind closed doors failed last week.
Even external mediators were unable to find a solution.
The GDL rejected its proposal to gradually reduce working hours to 36 hours per week by 2028 with full wage compensation.
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The union points out that it has already been able to enforce its 35-hour demand at 28 other railway companies.
However, these collective agreements are subject to a different conclusion at the railway.
If a different regulation were decided there, the contracts of the competitors would be adjusted.
The GDL wants to avoid that.
dpa