IG Metall boss sharply criticizes train drivers' union
There is a threat of a long strike at Deutsche Bahn in the wage dispute. The train drivers' union GDL is sending its members to a ballot. This is unacceptable for Deutsche Bahn. Now Christiane Benner, chairwoman of the IG Metall industrial union, is also joining the discussion and expressing her displeasure.
The head of the IG Metall trade union, Christiane Benner, has criticized the train drivers' union GDL in connection with the wage dispute at Deutsche Bahn. Referring to the coexisting unions EVG and GDL at Deutsche Bahn, Benner told Bild am Sonntag (Bams): "For us, it's one company - one union. I'm not a fan of different unions making collective bargaining policy at Deutsche Bahn."
There is one large trade union that is very successful in defending the interests of the rail workforce, and that is the EVG. The fact that there is also a "very loud train drivers' union", the GDL, which "only stands up for a small group" and otherwise does not show solidarity with its colleagues, leads to an "unnecessary division towards the employer".
On Friday, the GDL announced a ballot of its members to vote on possible further and longer strikes in the wage dispute with Deutsche Bahn (DB) following a warning strike last week. The wage negotiations between DB and GDL officially began last week. Deutsche Bahn presented an initial offer, which the GDL rejected as insufficient.
Benner: Train drivers' union provoked
At short notice, the GDL then called a nationwide warning strike from last Wednesday evening, which caused massive disruption to rail traffic. Benner told "Bams" that she had mixed feelings about the GDL's warning strike: the GDL had "at least provoked". However, the fact that there is now renewed discussion about restricting the right to strike is nonsense. "Striking is our right," Benner added.
Deutsche Bahn has also sharply criticized the strike ballot. The move "at this point in time is strange and completely irrational", explained a DB spokesperson. "The negotiations have not even been declared a failure. The train drivers' union is only looking for conflict, it is not in a position to cooperate." Deutsche Bahn also referred to the 11 percent offer already presented in the first round of negotiations.
The GDL is only negotiating for around 10,000 of the approximately 220,000 DB employees - mainly train crews and vehicle maintenance staff. At the end of August, Deutsche Bahn reached an agreement with the railroad and transport union (EVG), which has a much larger membership, on a collective bargaining agreement negotiated in arbitration.
IG Metall's Christiane Benner has expressed her disapproval of GDL's separate collective bargaining policy, stating, "For us, it's one company - one union." The GDL, representing a small group of train drivers and maintenance staff, announced a ballot for possible further strikes after a warning strike and rejected Deutsche Bahn's initial offer in wage negotiations. Deutsche Bahn criticized the strike ballot, viewing it as irrational at this stage, with negotiations not yet declared a failure.
Source: www.ntv.de
