After strike: Deutsche Bahn warns of full trains on Saturday
On the one hand, they are still working on getting rail operations in southern Germany back on track due to the winter weather. "At the same time, they have to prepare for the timetable change, which is scheduled for Sunday," said Stauß. "Striking in a situation like this is uncooperative."
In addition, the GDL is also striking freight transport and therefore industry and business. "DB Cargo is of course trying to run as many trains as possible, but when it comes to supplying power plants, blast furnaces, the automotive and chemical industries, delays can occur and it cannot be ruled out that assembly lines will also come to a standstill."
The German Train Drivers' Union had called for a nationwide warning strike in freight transport from 6 p.m. on Thursday and in passenger transport from 10 p.m. onwards. It is to last for 24 hours until 22:00 on Friday. Deutsche Bahn has drawn up an emergency timetable, but is expecting a number of train cancellations and delays on local and long-distance services.
The collective bargaining round between Deutsche Bahn and the GDL officially began at the beginning of November. The sticking point is the GDL's demand for a 35-hour week in shift work - the current figure is 38 hours. Deutsche Bahn rejects negotiations on this and considers the demand to be unrealizable in view of the shortage of skilled workers.
Meanwhile, political scientist and trade union expert Wolfgang Schröder called on the Deutsche Bahn management to be more willing to compromise. "What surprised me is how apodictically the railroad management positioned itself against the GDL's working time demands from the very beginning, thus enabling the strong polarization in this conflict in the first place," he told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland. "The 35-hour week is not a utopian goal."
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Source: www.stern.de
