New train drivers’ strike – Railway fails with urgent motion against strike – industrial action in freight transport has begun
picture alliance/O.Schülke
Audio: Fritz | March 11, 2024 | News | Image: picture alliance/O.Schülke
The collective bargaining dispute at the railway is resulting in another strike, which is expected to last from Tuesday morning to Wednesday morning in passenger transport. An urgent application by the railways, however, failed. The Berlin S-Bahn offers a “strike timetable”.
- Train drivers are on strike in passenger traffic from Tuesday to Wednesday morning, freight traffic has been affected since Monday evening
- Bahn fails in court with an urgent application against the strike, but wants to appeal
- S-Bahn publishes emergency timetable
- BVG is not affected, but expects fuller vehicles
The nationwide train drivers’ strike in long-distance and local transport Deutsche Bahn (DB) can start as planned on Tuesday night. The Frankfurt am Main labor court rejected the railway’s application against the strike on Monday. However, the railway announced that it would appeal.
The strike was called by the German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL). Passenger traffic is to be on strike from Tuesday 2 a.m. to Wednesday 2 a.m. A 24-hour strike in freight transport began on Monday at 6 p.m. “The cargo companies have been on strike across the board since then,” said a railway spokesman.
Bahn announces appeal
Deutsche Bahn submitted the urgent application because it considers the strike to be disproportionate. The reason for this was, among other things, the short lead time for the strike. The labor court in Frankfurt am Main now said that the strike was not disproportionate.
The railway now wants to appeal to the Hessian State Labor Court. “The strike announcement is far too short-term. There are also unlawful demands,” said Florian Weh, general manager of the rail employers’ association AGV Move, on Monday evening. According to Bahn, it is not possible to predict when the decision in the appeal process will be made. Therefore, the company will only offer an emergency timetable on Tuesday.
An attempt at mediation by the labor court in Frankfurt am Main was unsuccessful. Despite the court’s moderation, the parties were unable to agree on an official return to negotiations on Monday evening.
BVG and Odeg only indirectly affected by the strike
The Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) is again not directly affected by the strike. However, as during the recent rail strikes, one must expect fuller subways, trams and buses again, the transport companies announced on X.
Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH (Odeg) said on Monday that it would not be affected by the GDL strikes, as it was recently. Nevertheless, disruptions and irregularities can occur, the company emphasizes on his website [odeg.de].
Bahn is working on a “basic offer”
Both Deutsche Bahn and the Berlin S-Bahn want to maintain “basic services”. “The basic offer will be gradually published in the timetable information on bahn.de and in the DB Navigator. In addition, the DB has set up a free special hotline on 08000 99 66 33,” said the Bahn on their website [bahn.de] with.
Passengers who have bought a ticket for a trip on Tuesday up to and including Sunday can use their ticket at a later date, as the railway announces. The train connection has been lifted. Seat reservations can be canceled free of charge. In addition, long-distance transport passengers could bring forward their journey “as part of a special gesture of goodwill” and travel earlier this Monday.
S-Bahn publishes strike timetable
The Berlin S-Bahn will have to severely restrict its services from Tuesday morning. It’s on its website on Monday at noon [sbahn.berlin] presented an emergency roadmap. As a result, from Tuesday from 2 a.m. to Wednesday 2 a.m. the following lines will be completely canceled: S26, S41, S42, S45, S47, S7, S75, S8 and S85.
There is a strike timetable on the following lines:
S1 Birkenwerder – Nordbahnhof (60-minute intervals)
S2 Bernau – Anhalter Bahnhof (60-minute intervals)
S25 Hennigsdorf – Nordbahnhof (60-minute intervals)
S3 Erkner – Ostbahnhof (60-minute intervals)
S46 Königs Wusterhausen – Bundesplatz (60-minute intervals)
S5 Strausberg Nord – Ostbahnhof (40-minute intervals)
S9 Friedrichstrasse – Schöneweide – BER Airport (20-minute intervals)
The scheduled bus replacement service also runs during the strike, i.e. bus S1X: Birkenwerder – Oranienburg and bus S1A: Birkenwerder – Oranienburg.
In addition, replacement bus services will be offered on the following routes:
Bus S25: Teltow city – Lichterfelde Ost (every 10 minutes)
Bus S2: Südkreuz – Blankenfelde (every 10 minutes)
Federal government calls for compromise
Meanwhile, the federal government does not want to get involved in the collective bargaining dispute at Deutsche Bahn. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said this on Monday in Berlin. But the strikes affect a lot of people, which both sides have to keep an eye on. There should be a solution soon. But this is purely an appeal. The federal government is not planning to restrict the right to strike, not even in certain, particularly important areas.
A spokesman for the FDP-led Ministry of Transport said the appeal was aimed particularly at the train drivers’ union GDL. She must return to the negotiating table. A formal arbitration procedure is necessary. The GDL spans the spectrum.
The tariff conflict at the railway came to a head again on Sunday. While the railway called for a return to the negotiating table, GDL boss Claus Weselsky explained that instead of presenting an improved offer and finding solutions through collective bargaining, the GDL would continue to act as if the GDL was not willing to compromise. Allowing the deadline to pass will “inevitably lead to industrial action”.
Already the fifth strike by the GDL
The GDL has already gone on strike five times in the current collective bargaining round; the fifth strike lasting 35 hours only ended on Friday afternoon. Another round of negotiations failed last week. In this, two moderators – Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther and the former Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière (both CDU) – presented a proposal for possible further negotiations.
The railway then asked the GDL to resume negotiations based on the moderator’s suggestion. However, the union rejected this and described the proposal as unacceptable. The GDL’s core demand in the collective bargaining dispute with the railway is the gradual introduction of a 35-hour week with full wage compensation.
Broadcast: Fritz, March 11, 2024, 9:30 p.m
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