analyse
The negotiations between Bahn and GDL failed. New strikes are threatening as early as next week. At the same time, there are new demands for arbitration. An overview of the current state of affairs.
The good news for all train travelers: everything will remain calm until the weekend. The locomotive drivers’ union (GDL) wants to comment next Monday on the broken negotiations with Deutsche Bahn and its further course of action. Until then, she says she will stick to the agreed peace obligation, which applies up to and including Sunday.
But afterwards there will probably be strikes. The question is: how long? GDL boss Claus Weselsky recently ruled out an indefinite industrial dispute. But that could have changed after the failed negotiations – the GDL ultimately imposed the waiver on itself. She is not bound to it.
Upon request from tagesschau.de A spokesman did not want to comment on this and referred to the news blackout that applies until the press conference on Monday. However, temporary strikes could occur very quickly. How long and how extensive is at the discretion of the GDL.
The pressure on the union is growing
The next possible step in the collective bargaining dispute is so-called arbitration. Both sides send members to a commission – two independent arbitrators mediate. The procedure ends with the so-called arbitrator’s decision. This can then be accepted or not. In this case the negotiations would have finally failed.
GDL boss Weselsky had repeatedly rejected arbitration in recent weeks. That’s why an interim solution was reached a few weeks ago. The negotiations were moderated by Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther and the former Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière. And have now been canceled.
Politicians and business associations are vehemently demanding that the GDL not turn away from arbitration. The chairman of the Pro Bahn passenger association, Detlef Neuß, explained in SWRthe arbitration was overdue, “things simply cannot continue like this.”
No strike law in Germany
The arbitration procedure is also being discussed so hotly because there are now efforts in politics to intervene using legal means. There is no strike law in Germany. Collective bargaining autonomy is anchored in the Basic Law – i.e. the regulation that employers and unions should find a solution on their own. Likewise the right to industrial action.
This is exactly where the Union wants to start. Strikes should only be permitted in critical infrastructure if an arbitration procedure has failed. To do this, however, a law would have to be passed that the SPD-led federal government strictly rejects. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared in January that collective bargaining autonomy should not be compromised.
This means that the last resort for companies is to go to court. Deutsche Bahn and Lufthansa have tried this in the past, but their success has been modest. The courts would have to decide on a case-by-case basis what is allowed and what is not, explained labor lawyer Gregor Thüsing from the University of Bonn Bavarian Radio.
High costs due to strikes
The economy now fears long-lasting strikes – also in freight transport. The employer-related Economic Institute (IW) in Cologne recently estimated the economic damage caused by the consequences of the strike at up to 100 million euros per day. The amount increases with each additional day of strike due to subsequent costs.
However, logisticians do not see a collapse of supply chains, as is now feared. According to the Federal Network Agency, the share of rail freight transport by rail is around 40 percent. However, competing companies can continue to operate in the event of a strike. And because of empty tracks during rail strikes, they even reach their destination more on time.
Economists expect that long-lasting strikes that slow down the economy will further slow down economic growth. But it is unclear whether the GDL can afford a long industrial dispute with many strikes. According to her own statement, she pays the strikers 10 euros per day. The costs for the union can quickly run into the millions.