The German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) declared collective bargaining to have failed after the second round of talks with Deutsche Bahn. At the same time, she announced new warning strikes at Deutsche Bahn in Berlin on Friday.
There are currently no compromises to be found with the employers, said GDL boss Claus Weselsky in Berlin. He announced that the union would strike again on rail transport. He initially did not give exact dates for possible warning strikes. The ballot among the GDL members on indefinite strikes is still ongoing; the result is expected at the end of December. If 75 percent of those voting agree to indefinite industrial action, the GDL may also use this means of pressure in collective bargaining disputes.
Collective bargaining began the first round just two weeks ago. A week ago, the GDL paralyzed large parts of train traffic nationwide with a 20-hour warning strike. Due to the industrial action, a good 80 percent of the long-distance journeys that were actually planned were canceled. In regional transport, the effects were even more pronounced in some federal states.
The focus of collective bargaining is currently on the GDL’s demand for a reduction in weekly working hours for shift workers from 38 to 35 hours per week with full wage compensation. DB Human Resources Director Martin Seiler believes the request cannot be implemented and sees no room for negotiation. He argues that implementation would be too expensive. In addition, with fewer weekly working hours, more employees are needed – which are particularly difficult to find in times of skilled labor shortages. GDL boss Weselsky, on the other hand, assumes that jobs at the railway will become more attractive with fewer weekly working hours.
In addition to reducing working hours, the GDL is demanding, among other things, 555 euros more per month and an inflation compensation bonus for employees. The railway has so far offered an eleven percent wage increase for a term of 32 months as well as the required inflation compensation bonus.
The GDL also wants to expand its sphere of influence on the railways and negotiate collective agreements for infrastructure areas. The railway rejects this because the GDL is hardly represented in these areas.
Since the beginning of the still young collective bargaining dispute, the GDL has tried to keep the pressure on the railway as high as possible with many strike threats and the start of the strike vote. Declaring the negotiations to have failed after two weeks means the next level of escalation. After the first round of negotiations, Weselsky presented it as a success that the union and the railway were able to agree on a tight schedule and numerous further meetings until Christmas. These appointments will probably not be needed for the time being.
A way out of the current situation could be arbitration, i.e. negotiations with one or more mediators. The railway had proposed such a moderated approach before the first round of negotiations began, already in anticipation of a tough collective bargaining conflict with the GDL. At the time, Weselsky rejected the proposal in clear terms. On Friday he said that he now sees “no room” for mediation.
According to the group, the collective agreements negotiated by the GDL are applied to around 10,000 employees at Deutsche Bahn. This makes it the significantly smaller employee representative at the federally owned company – for comparison: The railway and transport union EVG negotiated new collective agreements for around 180,000 DB employees in the spring and summer.
Because the GDL primarily represents train drivers and train attendants, it can also disrupt train traffic in Germany with strikes and warning strikes. Under its current chairman Weselsky, the GDL is known for tough collective bargaining disputes.
Note: This article has been updated
