Next rail warning strike begins

Traffic - Next rail warning strike begins

Travelers and commuters must be prepared for what is now the fourth warning strike at Deutsche Bahn this year: The train drivers' union GDL has called on its members to walk off the job. The strike at Deutsche Bahn (DB) is scheduled to begin this Thursday evening at 10 p.m. for passenger services and end this Friday evening at 10 p.m. Disruptions are expected even before the start of the warning strike, as well as afterwards. An emergency timetable with greatly reduced services will apply during the strike.

Deutsche Bahn intends to maintain around 20 percent of long-distance services during the warning strike. "That won't really work in the Munich area yet," said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Achim Stauß in Berlin on Thursday morning, referring to the snow chaos in Bavaria. "But overall, that is our goal." In regional transport, Deutsche Bahn expects major differences depending on the region due to the warning strike. In Bavaria, traffic will largely come to a standstill due to the weather. This is not the case elsewhere, emphasized Stauß.

Due to the onset of winter in southern Germany, there is already a traffic jam of several hundred trains in freight traffic. The warning strike will further exacerbate the situation, he said. The effects would also be felt beyond the weekend.

Employees of Deutsche Bahn, including the S-Bahn companies in Berlin and Hamburg, as well as the railroad companies Transdev, AKN and City-Bahn Chemnitz and other companies have been called to take part in the warning strike. According to the announcement, the freight transport strike will begin at 6 p.m. on Thursday evening.

The strike on Friday, which is a busy day for travel, will disrupt the plans of thousands of passengers. They can postpone their journey planned for this Thursday or Friday and use their ticket at another time. The train commitment has been canceled, the railroad announced. Reservations can be canceled free of charge.

GDL wants to increase the pressure

The German Train Drivers' Union (GDL) wants to increase the pressure in the current collective bargaining round with this action. Among other things, it wants to emphasize its demand for a reduction in working hours for shift workers. "The employer side is stonewalling everywhere and is not prepared to give employees the appreciation and recognition they deserve for the work they do," criticized the union.

However, passengers can at least breathe a sigh of relief in one respect: there will be no further warning strikes until January 7 and the busy public holidays will be spared from industrial action. "We will now carry out this strike action on Thursday and Friday, and it will be the last one for this year," said GDL boss Weselsky on MDR-aktuell. "Then comes the ballot and the count on December 19. And there will be no more industrial action, not even in the first week of January."

Displeasure among passenger representatives

The timing of the warning strike announcement on Wednesday evening was met with displeasure by the passenger association Pro Bahn. "What we criticize is the short notice. We would like it to be announced two days in advance when the strike will take place so that passengers can prepare for it," said national chairman Detlef Neuß.

Protests by strikers are planned in Frankfurt, Cologne and Munich. GDL members also want to campaign for their demands in Postdam, the venue for the ongoing wage negotiations for the public service of the federal states. The same applies to the railroads as to the public sector, said Ulrich Silberbach, Chairman of the German Civil Service Association. "If you want to attract and retain qualified specialists, you have to offer attractive and competitive working conditions."

Deutsche Bahn: GDL demands cannot be met

Deutsche Bahn criticized the GDL for spoiling the second Advent weekend for millions of uninvolved people. A strike so soon after the onset of winter and so shortly before the timetable change was irresponsible and selfish, criticized Martin Seiler, member of the Deutsche Bahn Executive Board for Human Resources. "Instead of negotiating and facing up to reality, the train drivers' union is going on strike for unfulfillable demands. This is absolutely unnecessary."

The GDL last called a warning strike at Deutsche Bahn on November 15 and 16. In March and April, the larger railroad and transport union (EVG) had called warning strikes for one day each. A ballot on indefinite strikes is already underway in the unusually tough collective bargaining round for train drivers.