Weselsky: Friday last strike this year
Three weeks after the first warning strike in the current wage negotiations, the train drivers' union has announced another strike at short notice. What happens next? The GDL wants to wait until the new year, says union boss Weselsky.
The head of the train drivers' union GDL, Claus Weselsky, wants to give passengers a longer break into the new year after the nationwide warning strike from Thursday evening to Friday evening. "We will now carry out this strike action on Thursday and Friday, and it will be the last one for this year," Weselsky told 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." No further warning strikes are therefore to be feared until January 7.
The GDL had already deemed the wage negotiations with Deutsche Bahn to have failed after the second round of negotiations. The 24-hour warning strike, which was announced at short notice, is to begin at 10 p.m. tonight for passenger transport and at 6 p.m. for freight transport.
A strike so soon after the onset of winter and so close to the timetable change is "irresponsible and selfish", emphasized Martin Seiler, member of the Deutsche Bahn's Executive Board responsible for personnel. The last rail strike was on November 15 and 16. During this 20-hour work stoppage, a good 80 percent of the scheduled long-distance journeys were canceled. The impact on regional services was even more drastic in some federal states.
One of the GDL's demands for the new collective agreement is a reduction in the working week from 38 to 35 hours with the same pay. In addition, it wants to extend its scope of application at Deutsche Bahn and also conclude collective agreements for work areas in which it does not yet have any collective agreements. The ballot of GDL members, which was launched at the same time, is still ongoing. The result should be available on December 19. Indefinite strikes are possible if 75 percent of those taking part in the ballot vote in favor of such industrial action.
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The German railroad workers, represented by the GDL and led by Claus Weselsky, have initiated a series of warning strikes in pursuit of improved collective bargaining terms, such as reducing the working week to 35 hours with the same pay and expanding the GDL's scope of application at Deutsche Bahn. Despite these actions, Weselsky announced that the upcoming strike on Thursday and Friday will be the last for 2022, following a nationwide strike earlier in the year. The GDL's aggressive stance has drawn criticism from Deutsche Bahn's Executive Board, with Martin Seiler calling it "irresponsible and selfish."
Source: www.ntv.de
