Wissing calls for strike peace at Christmas
While negotiations with the train drivers' union GDL are ongoing in the wage dispute, Deutsche Bahn is preparing for possible strikes. Meanwhile, Transport Minister Volker Wissing is urging the parties to the wage dispute to respect their obligation to keep the peace at Christmas. People should not suffer.
In the wage dispute between the train drivers' union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn, Transport Minister Volker Wissing is hoping for a Christmas period without strikes. "Christmas is a time of peace - all parties to the wage dispute should think about that," Wissing told the Funke Mediengruppe newspapers. People want to visit their relatives and friends at Christmas in particular. He could therefore only "appeal to all parties to collective bargaining to be aware of their special responsibility and to design possible measures in such a way that people do not have to suffer as a result".
The wage negotiations between Deutsche Bahn and GDL began on Thursday and are due to continue next week. Negotiations have already been scheduled beyond that. Deutsche Bahn presented an offer of an eleven percent wage increase and an inflation bonus of up to 2850 euros for a term of 32 months. However, the reduction in working hours with full wage compensation demanded by the trade union side was not feasible.
GDL boss Claus Weselsky has repeatedly threatened to strike. At the same time, he hinted that Christmas could be exempt from this. People should look into "the history" to see when the union last went on strike at Christmas. "You won't find anything."
Rail emergency timetable with 20 percent performance
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bahn is preparing for possible GDL strikes in the coming weeks. According to a Deutsche Bahn spokesperson, an emergency timetable has already been drawn up. According to this, "less than 20 percent of the regular service" will be used on long-distance services. However, trains that are as long as possible should then take as many passengers as possible to their destination. For example, a 376-metre-long ICE train with 918 seats will run on particularly popular connections - for example from Hamburg via Cologne, Frankfurt and Stuttgart to Munich, according to the spokesperson.
"Some" cross-border connections could also be maintained during a train drivers' strike because foreign drivers are operating the trains. The use of buses, on the other hand, is "unfortunately not possible". According to the spokesperson, there are neither enough vehicles nor drivers to "spontaneously and comprehensively" replace the capacity of trains and offer a reliable timetable.
At the end of August, Deutsche Bahn reached a wage agreement with the Eisenbahn- und Verkehrsgewerkschaft (EVG), GDL's rival union. It applies to around 180,000 employees at Deutsche Bahn. The train drivers' union is now negotiating for around 10,000 rail employees. According to its own information, the GDL has just under 40,000 members and organizes three quarters of train drivers in Germany.
In the midst of the wage dispute between Deutsche Bahn and the train drivers' union GDL, Claus Weselsky, the GDL's boss, has suggested that Christmas might be exempt from potential strikes.Volker Wissing, the German Transport Minister, has advocated for a strike-free Christmas, emphasizing that people should not be inconvenienced during this festive period. Despite the ongoing negotiations, German Railways has drawn up an emergency timetable in case of strikes, promising to operate trains with up to 20% capacity on popular long-distance connections. Inflation and wage development have been key factors in the ongoing dispute between the two parties.
Source: www.ntv.de
