Just a few days after the most recent strike at Deutsche Bahn, the next rail strike by the GDL train drivers’ union is scheduled for this Tuesday from 2 a.m. There will once again be extensive restrictions on long-distance and regional transport for 24 hours.
At the same time, the cabin union UFO has called on Lufthansa flight attendants to take industrial action on Tuesday and Wednesday. The airline assumes that a total of 1,000 flights will be canceled in Frankfurt and Munich on the two days: 600 in Frankfurt and 400 in Munich. According to a Lufthansa spokesman, around 120,000 passengers will be affected.
The railway announced that it wanted to stop the strike by the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union through court. In the afternoon, the Frankfurt Labor Court will hear the company’s application for an interim injunction.
Restrictions are to be expected in any case
But even if the strike there were overturned, it would have little impact on the restrictions expected for millions of passengers on Tuesday. Within a few hours of the strike announcement, the railway again organized a limited basic passenger transport service. Changing this emergency timetable again after a possible court ban on strikes is likely to be difficult given the short time until the start of operations on Tuesday morning. Accordingly, passengers have to be prepared for the fact that only about one in five long-distance trains will be on the road throughout the day – whether there is a strike or not.
During the ongoing conflict, the railway had already tried to legally prevent a labor dispute by the GDL, but was unsuccessful in two instances. After collective bargaining failed again, the company called on the union for further talks at the end of last week. The GDL made this conditional on the railway submitting a new offer. The union’s ultimatum to the company’s management had expired just over two hours on Sunday evening when the GDL announced another strike.
It is the sixth industrial dispute in the collective bargaining dispute with Deutsche Bahn that has been simmering for months. Freight traffic started at 6 p.m. that evening. “The cargo companies have been on strike across the board since then,” said a railway spokesman.
The crux of the matter is the union’s demand for a 35-hour week for shift workers without financial losses. In a negotiation phase that lasted several weeks, the railway recently agreed to a proposal from external mediators that provided for 36 hours with full wage compensation. However, the GDL rejected this.
The federal government does not want to intervene
In view of the deadlocked conflict at the railway, calls for the federal government to intervene as the sole owner of the railway are becoming louder. The situation could no longer be allowed to continue, said CSU General Secretary Martin Huber on Monday morning in the RTL/ntv program “Early Start”. “In this respect, the federal government is required to participate in negotiations and mediate here.”
The chemical industry warns of the consequences of the repeated train drivers’ strikes. “Such actions will place a further heavy burden on Germany, an already struggling business location,” the Association of the Chemical Industry told the German Press Agency. He appealed to those involved “to finally find an acceptable compromise after months of negotiations.”
In addition, calls for a stricter legal framework for strikes increased on Monday. “We need labor dispute law that provides for appropriate notice periods, arbitration regulations and cooling-off periods, especially for the infrastructure,” the Federal Association of German Employers’ Associations told the German Press Agency.
However, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit made it clear in Berlin: “We generally do not interfere in collective bargaining.” Collective bargaining autonomy also applies when things become inconvenient. According to the information, the government is not seeking any changes to the right to strike, not even in the area of so-called critical infrastructure.
There had already been parallel industrial disputes on the rails and in the air last week. For Lufthansa, the tariff dispute with UFO is just one of several current tariff disputes: Last week, the ground staff organized by Verdi paralyzed much of Lufthansa’s passenger traffic with what is now their fifth wave of warning strikes. Negotiations with Verdi are scheduled to take place again on Wednesday of this week (March 13th).
