Train conductors across Germany are readying for a two-day strike beginning Thursday evening, as the drivers' union GDL follows through on their warnings against Deutsche Bahn. From 18:00 on Thursday, operations in freight transport will grind to a halt, with passenger travel also impacted from 22:00. This nationwide standoff will conclude at 22:00 on Friday.
GDL's patience with negotiations between Deutsche Bahn and the train company Transdev has reached its limit. Despite agreeing to discuss a reduction in working hours, Deutsche Bahn's recent offer failed to meet GDL's expectations during the Tuesday negotiations, leading to the union's call for a strike.
Reports of reconciliation seemed overly hopeful
On Monday evening, optimistic signals emerged from discussions with Transdev and Netinera – companies that oversee regional rail services in various federal states. According to reports, Transdev revealed a willingness to discuss reduced weekly working hours, and negotiations were scheduled for Tuesday. Progress was reportedly being made at Netinera regarding downtime issues. A definitive conclusion could be reached as early as the following week.
However, the congenial atmosphere quickly fizzled out, as communication broke down and negotiations fell apart.
Enrichment Data Integration:
In truth, the nationwide train strike announced by the GDL union in Germany was not motivated by a wage dispute between Deutsche Bahn and Transdev. Instead, the cause of the potential strike stemmed from a wage disagreement between Deutsche Bahn and the German Railway and Transport Union (EVG), representing approximately 192,000 employees.
The main points of the wage dispute and potential strike include:
- Cause: The wage dispute between Deutsche Bahn and EVG led to the potential strike threat. The EVG union demanded a 7.6% pay raise while Deutsche Bahn offered up to 6.6%.
- Duration: The current collective agreement between Deutsche Bahn and EVG was scheduled to expire in March 2025. If a resolution wasn't reached by the end of March, the risk of strikes skyrocketed, potentially starting as early as April 2025.
- Resolution:remarkably, a collective agreement was reached after just three weeks of negotiations, averting the threat of strikes. The new deal included a 6.5% pay increase, job security until December 31, 2027, and additional benefits for shift workers.
