Railroad warning strike begins

Traffic - Railroad warning strike begins

The next warning strike at Deutsche Bahn is imminent. The train drivers' union GDL has called on its members to stop work on Thursday evening. The strike at Deutsche Bahn is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. for freight traffic, then at 10 p.m. for passenger traffic and end at 10 p.m. on Friday evening. Restrictions are expected even before the start of the warning strike, as well as afterwards.

An emergency timetable with a greatly reduced service will apply during the strike. As with the first GDL warning strike, Deutsche Bahn intends to maintain around 20 percent of long-distance services. The emergency timetable is now available online. "All connections in the emergency timetable are now available in the information media on bahn.de and in the DB Navigator app," the Group announced. In addition, Deutsche Bahn has once again set up a strike hotline. Passengers affected can call 08000-996633 to find out about their connections.

Following the warning strike, the GDL does not intend to strike again until January 7. "We will now carry out this strike action on Thursday and Friday, and it will be the last one for this year," said GDL chairman Claus Weselsky on Wednesday evening on MDR-aktuell.

GDL boss: strikes "longer and more intense" in the new year

Rail passengers can only breathe a sigh of relief after the upcoming warning strike: Weselsky has already held out the prospect of further industrial action in the new year. "We will count the ballot on December 19 and will not strike in the first week of January, but after that the strikes will be longer and more intense," the GDL chairman told Bayerischer Rundfunk.

The union is currently holding a ballot for its members to vote on indefinite strikes. The result is expected on December 19. Weselsky is expecting an approval rate of around 90 percent. More than 75 percent of members must vote in favor of indefinite strikes. Such industrial action can be expensive for employees. The union's strike pay usually only compensates for part of the wage losses that employees may incur during industrial action.

Regional transport: different effects depending on the region

In regional transport, Deutsche Bahn expects the effects of the warning strike to vary greatly from region to region. In Bavaria, traffic will largely come to a standstill due to the weather. This is not the case elsewhere, said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Achim Stauß on Thursday.

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.

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.

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 employers are stonewalling everywhere and are not prepared to give the employees the appreciation and recognition they deserve for the work they have done," criticized the union.

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 for warning strikes for one day each. In the unusually tough collective bargaining round for train drivers, a ballot on indefinite strikes is already underway.