The strike announced by the German Train Drivers (GDL) trade union between 23-29 January ended 24 hours earlier than planned. This means that for rail freight, trains started running again in the evening of Sunday, 28 January. GDL will now sit back at the negotiating table with Deutsche Bahn (DB) between 5 February and 3 March.
The day after the strike started, GDL drafted a proposal with a few demands to DB, which was accepted. “The collective bargaining parties will resume negotiations on the basis of the written agreement”, GDL specified. The union added that there will be no further communication about the issue until the end of the next round of negotiations.
DB explained that the negotiations will be carried out by GDL and the company, with the possible aid of two moderators if either party reports it necessary. The truce deal also entails a so-called peace obligation until 3 March. In other words, GDL promised not to go on strike until then.
Impact of strikes on rail freight
Concerning rail freight, thus, the strike ended on Sunday, 28 January at 6 pm instead of 29 January at the same time. This, according to DB, gave the opportunity to clear traffic jams throughout the night. “However, experience shows that it takes several days until freight traffic can return to regular traffic”, DB concluded. This is especially true considering this is a series of GDL strikes that started in mid-November, with four initiatives in three months, which caused additional backlog. When it comes to passenger transport, the strike ended Monday, 29 January at 2 am instead of 6 pm.
GDl vs DB: a recap
Tensions first rose in November, when negotiations for a new CBA between GDL and DB took a wrong turn and resulted in a 20-hour long industrial action. The second strike was called for early December and lasted 28 hours. Things escalated in January, with GDL calling a first three-day strike between 9-12 January and this most recent one only two weeks later. DB tried to take the trade union to two courts, claiming GDL’s inability to negotiate. Both times, the courts ruled against DB. With the new agreement, the month of February should be safe. It remains to be seen, however, if this next round of negotiations will result in a new CBA or more strikes.
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- After cutting subsidies, Germany also increases track access charges
