After the 20-hour warning strike by the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL), rail traffic in Germany has largely been running smoothly again since the early hours of the morning. “The long-distance and regional trains have been running according to the regular timetable almost everywhere since operations began early in the morning,” the railway announced on Friday morning. The collective bargaining conflict between DB and GDL is far from resolved – the next round of negotiations could begin next week. In any case, the railway wants to stick to the agreed meeting date, as company circles announced on Thursday evening.
The negotiations on Thursday and Friday would “of course” take place, it was said. It would only be different if the GDL itself went on strike on the date of the negotiations. In the interests of the employees and passengers, the railway wants to find a solution at the negotiating table.
Conversations cancelled
Both sides actually wanted to meet for the second round of negotiations this week. However, after the GDL announced a warning strike, the railway canceled the talks and emphasized that there could be no negotiations accompanied by a simultaneous industrial action.
The warning strike lasted from Wednesday evening at 10 p.m. to Thursday evening at 6 p.m. It forced the railways to operate with an emergency timetable for long-distance transport. Although this provided for some journeys with particularly long ICE trains, 80 percent of the journeys actually planned had to be cancelled. In regional transport, there were almost no trains at all in some regions.
Full trains expected again
The railway also expected cancellations and delays in the first few hours after the warning strike ended. The federally owned company is expecting full trains on Friday: “Since today is a day with very high demand and many passengers have postponed their journey until today because of the GDL strike, we strongly recommend a seat reservation on long-distance transport,” it said.
With the 20-hour warning strike, the GDL tried to increase the pressure early on in the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with Deutsche Bahn. The union is demanding, among other things, 555 euros more per week and an inflation compensation bonus for a period of twelve months. The main sticking point is the demand for a reduction in working hours for shift workers from 38 to 35 hours per week with full wage compensation. The railway rejects this as impossible.
The first round of negotiations ended last week without any agreement on the content. However, both sides agreed on a few further dates for discussions. However, the GDL has not yet said whether it wants to keep the appointments next week or possibly go on strike again.
