The Pro Bahn passenger association is calling for a quick agreement between Deutsche Bahn and the GDL union. As a democratic association, we “fundamentally support the right to strike,” said the Bavarian state chairman and federal vice-president of Pro Bahn, Lukas Iffländer, to Bayerischer Rundfunk. However, after three days, understanding is already “somewhat difficult”.
It is good that the GDL union announced the strike in good time this time, said Iffländer. However, this must be “the last major round of strikes” and both sides must come to an agreement. “If we want to make the transport transition credible, then that must also mean that we can provide the railway reliably and trustworthy,” said Iffländer. These collective bargaining rounds must be brought to an end now and “run with less noise” in the future.
Regarding the GDL’s core demand for a reduction in weekly working hours for shift workers to 35 hours with full wage compensation, Iffländer said that this could only be achieved “gradually” anyway. The competing companies Netinera and Go-Ahead have already agreed to gradually reduce weekly working hours from 38 to 35 hours from 2025 to 2028. This puts Deutsche Bahn under pressure to follow suit. “Otherwise the train drivers will all go to the other two companies,” said Iffländer.
