German Rail Strike Averted Ahead of Schedule as Deutsche Bahn Agrees to Negotiate with GDL Union
The six-day strike by train drivers at Deutsche Bahn that began on the night of 24 January has been ended early in Germany, according to the German drivers' union GDL. Rail traffic should resume as normal, but passengers will still have to expect some problems on Monday.
"Deutsche Bahn AG has abandoned the lockout and agreed in writing to negotiate the main demands of the German Locomotive Drivers' Union (GDL). The parties to the collective bargaining agreement will resume negotiations on the basis of a written agreement," the organiser's website said.
As a result, the GDL will end the ongoing protests in freight transport earlier than 28 January 2024 at 18:00, and the strike in passenger transport (including City-Bahn Chemnitz) on 29 January 2024 at 2:00 am.
As The Gaze previously reported, the strike at all DB AG companies and City-Bahn Chemnitz was originally scheduled to last until 18:00 on 29 January.
The parties to the collective bargaining agreement have set the period from 5 February to 3 March 2024 for negotiations. GDL's Federal Chairman Klaus Weselski described the willingness to negotiate all demands and thus allow the resumption of collective bargaining as an important step at the right time.
"DB's willingness to negotiate on the reduction of working hours for shift workers is particularly important. There is now a willingness to negotiate a collective agreement on infrastructure. If an agreement is reached, it will send a strong signal to the entire railway system and will boost the attractiveness of railway professions," said Klaus Weselski.
Other topics of negotiation include GDL's demands for wage increases and inflation compensation allowances, as well as the federal framework collective agreement on vehicle maintenance and the tariff classification of employees.
This was the second strike this year. The previous one lasted three days, from 10 to 12 January. During the strike, Deutsche Bahn introduced an emergency timetable that cancelled about 80% of long-distance trains and a significant number of regional and suburban trains.
The second strike was launched as the GDL Deutsche Bahn union's tariff negotiations failed, in part due to the group's refusal to reduce the working week of drivers from the current 38 to 35 hours while maintaining full pay.
On 19 January, DB presented a new compromise proposal, which included the possibility of reducing working hours to 37 hours per week from 2026 while maintaining wages. As an alternative, drivers could expect a significant pay rise. However, GDL representatives rejected this offer.