Locomotive engineers in Germany are called to a Deutsche Bahn strike for three days from Wednesday to Friday evening after negotiations with management over pay and working hours failed, the GDL union announced.
“The DB Group did not take advantage of the Christmas truce to prevent collective protests by presenting a non-negotiable offer,” the union, which has been engaged in a dispute with Deutsche Bahn for several months and has already led to several strikes in 2023, said in a statement.
In passenger transport, drivers will stop work on Wednesday at 02.00. In freight transport, the strike will start at 18.00 on Tuesday, the union announced. The industrial action will end on Friday at 18.00. It is the longest work stoppage initiated so far by the union in its ongoing conflict negotiations with the rail operator’s management. German railway workers have already gone on strike in November and December.
Deutsche Bahn strike. Management threatens court
“This strike is not only completely unnecessary, but we also believe it is not legally authorised,” Martin Seiler, DB’s human resources director, reacted in a statement on Sunday, announcing legal action to stop the strike.
The move “will have a considerable impact on rail operations,” DB warned. The disruption to freight transport comes at a high cost to the already struggling German economy. In addition to wage increases to compensate for inflation, the GDL, which represents about 10,000 employees, is also demanding to negotiate a move to a 35-hour, four-day working week.
Deutsche Bahn management said in December that it had made an offer of an 11% pay rise at the opening of negotiations, as well as a “compensatory bonus to cope with inflation” of up to €2,850. DB indicated on Sunday that it had last week tabled “an extended offer” representing “a big step forward towards meeting the union’s fundamental demand on working hours”.
Last year, another collective labour dispute pitted Deutsche Bahn against the EVG union, which represents other railway professions and some 180,000 employees. An agreement was finally reached at the end of August.
Share on:
