The restrictions on Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance, regional and freight transport due to the strike by the train drivers’ union GDL will continue on Friday. The strike is only supposed to officially last until 1 p.m. But the company said the company would stick to the limited basic long-distance service throughout the day. Only one in five trains is currently traveling there. In regional and S-Bahn transport, however, the service is to be gradually increased again over the course of Friday, it was said.
The strike by the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) has been causing widespread disruption to rail traffic since Thursday morning. It is the fifth strike in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute and should last 35 hours each for passenger and freight transport. There is no agreement in sight. GDL boss Claus Weselsky therefore wants to announce future labor disputes with significantly less notice. This further increases the uncertainty for passengers on rail.
“Reutlinger General-Anzeiger”: “Weselsky is overstepping. If the train is not a reliable means of transport, it runs counter to the goals of the transport transition. Thousands of jobs are at risk. These are the people for whom he is currently pretending to be fighting. But here too There is some positive news: It is Weselsky’s last industrial action.”
“Südwest Presse” (Ulm): “The train driver boss doesn’t want an agreement, he wants to get his maximum demand, he has to get it. The reason: He has a collective agreement with 28 other transport companies about the gradual introduction of the 35-hour week agreed. However, the contracts will only come into effect if the DB also agrees to this reduction in working hours. Weselsky has thus maneuvered himself into a trap. The more time passes, the more strikes come, the less he will be able to convey his fight to the public .”
“Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”: “The Greens don’t want to be caught thinking that collective bargaining autonomy and the right to strike (…) might have to be designed differently. The Union and FDP understandably didn’t want to get a reputation for anti-worker sentiment in the past. So they left it up to them Legislators in cross-party inaction are asking the courts to regulate the right to strike – or not. But things cannot continue like this, and not just because of the immense economic damage. If millions of travelers are taken hostage again and again, so that someone wins the collective bargaining battlefield can leave, then the parties from left to right can no longer avoid their responsibility for peace and cohesion in society.”
“Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”: “It is not the first time that one gets the impression that, under the guise of collective bargaining, the GDL wants to show in competition with the much larger railway and transport union EVG who represents the stronger interests of rail employees. That’s surprising “It’s not that parts of the public and politicians are thinking more and more loudly about restrictions on the right to strike in areas of public services and infrastructure. If it comes to that in the future, Claus Weselsky would share responsibility for it. What an imposition.”
“Leipziger Volkszeitung”: “The current rail strike and those that are yet to come are also annoying people in the country because they can no longer understand what exactly it is about Weselsky is primarily to blame for this, as he conducts a mixture of untrue public relations work and pushing for principles; but Seiler is also to blame for this, as he also does not always provide open and clear information about the status of the negotiations.”
“Frankfurter Rundschau”: “Claus Weselsky only has a small circle of fans – that’s all he needs. As head of the train drivers’ union, he has to fight for improvements for the GDL members. Take public opinion into account? For Weselsky, this is irrelevant. In In previous collective bargaining disputes, this was a strength of the GDL boss. He might have been seen as argumentative, as ruthless – it didn’t matter, as long as there was a wage increase at the end of the collective bargaining round. Weselsky is now making things difficult not only for his opponents, but also for those who work with him sympathize. He misrepresented the two moderators’ suggestion and thus justified the wave strikes. In doing so, Weselsky damaged the image of the tough but honestly fighting union leader that he had carefully built up. In fact, the two moderators had suggested reducing the weekly working hours to 36 hours – with full wage compensation. That comes very close to the GDL requirement for a 35-hour week.”
