O German railway assumes that the Train drivers' strike This week million passengers he meets. The company announced one for Wednesday through Friday Emergency hours with a very limited supply. “For these trips, DB uses longer trains with more seats to be able to take as many people as possible to their destination. However, travel cannot be guaranteed,” the company announced on Sunday night. At the same time, the railway wants to take legal action against the strike.
Passengers are asked to avoid non-essential train travel during the strike or postpone travel. There will be big differences across Germany in the number of trains that can run in regional traffic. “There will also be massive restrictions on the industry and economy on the transport of goods by rail,” the statement said.
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Tickets can be used later
The company also announced goodwill rules: all passengers who wish to postpone their planned trip between Wednesday and Friday because of the strike will be able to use their ticket later. The rail connection has been suspended. Seat reservations can be canceled free of charge. Long-distance passengers also have the option of moving their journey forward.
The train drivers' union GDL wants to go on strike in passenger transport from Wednesday, 2 am, to Friday, 6 pm – in a week in which serious disruptions to road traffic are expected due to farmers' protests. Experience shows that, even before the strike, some trains were not running according to plan. Furthermore, it usually takes some time for traffic to return to normal.
Bahn wants an injunction
The company announced that it would apply to the Frankfurt Labor Court for an urgent injunction to stop the strike. According to the group, the strike has no legal basis.
With the strike, the union around its president Claus Weselsky wants to use pressure Tariff dispute increase in what concerns Moneybut also around shorter working hours for full-pay shift workers go. The railroad rejects this. During two shorter GDL alert strikes last year, the railway had to cancel about 80% of its long-distance transport services. The effects on regional transport varied greatly depending on the region. In some federal states there were almost no trains running anymore. Unless strike participation differs fundamentally, similar effects can now be expected.
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Dispute over rental company
“Not only is this strike absolutely unnecessary, but we also believe it is not legally permitted,” said Deutsche Bahn human resources director Martin Seiler. “Because the machinists’ union lost its negotiating capacity when it founded its temporary workers’ cooperative.”
GDL founded this cooperative called Fair Train in the summer. According to Weselsky, the company's objective is to steal train drivers from the railroad and rent them to railroad companies under their own tariff conditions. It is not clear whether this will work and especially whether there will be enough train drivers who will abandon the railway and work for Fair Train.
The railway sees a conflict of interest in the cooperative: From the company's point of view, GDL acts as both an employer and a union. This is why the railway recently took legal action against GDL at the state labor court in Hesse.
Weselsky criticized the lawsuit on Sunday as a “smoking gun” and dismissed the accusation. It shows “the desperation of a socially alienated employer who is not afraid of any means, however absurd, to eliminate the strong GDL”.
An injunction from the Labor Court could be taken quickly in expedited proceedings. Judges could consider the matter as early as Monday.