FRANKFURT: German train drivers walked out in their longest strike in 20 years yesterday, rejecting a proposal of arbitration and threatening to plunge the country into travel chaos this weekend.
The GDL train drivers’ union turned down an offer by the management of rail operator Deutsche Bahn to take the dispute to arbitration, and began an unprecedented five-day stoppage.
The strike was to start on national freight services yesterday afternoon and spread to passenger services today.
In addition to the incalculable economic fallout from the industrial action, the stoppages will hit the weekend celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. As many as two million visitors were expected to travel to the German capital, many by train. Not only nationwide rail services, but local suburban or S-Bahn train networks in Berlin and other major cities across the country will also be affected.
Deutsche Bahn, which slammed the strike as “out of proportion” and “stupid”, said it was hoping to maintain around one third of services, but has warned that major delays could be expected.
Earlier, Deutsche Bahn had tabled an offer to take the dispute to arbitration, with each side appointing an independent arbitrator.
“We must find a way back to sensible relations between both sides,” the company said.
Deutsche Bahn gave GDL until 8pm (1900 GMT) to decide whether to accept the proposal and call off the strikes.
But the union rejected the proposal. GDL has come under fierce criticism from all quarters for its industrial action, since it is only a small union with around 19,000 members, compared with a total Deutsche Bahn workforce of 196,000 in Germany and more than 300,000 worldwide.
Deutsche Bahn described the renewed walkot as “pure bullying”. “While people in Germany are looking forward to celebrating the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Wall on November 9, GDL wants to paralyse public life in our country with the longest strike in the history of Deutsche Bahn,” the company’s head of personnel, Ulrich Weber, raged.
GDL has accused Deutsche Bahn of stonewalling in talks over workers’ demands for a five-percent wage hike and a shorter working week of 37 hours.
Union leaders also want to represent other groups of employees within Deutsche Bahn such as conductors, catering staff, dispatchers, and not just drivers.
Travellers in Germany have also been hit recently by repeated walkouts by pilots working for airlines within the
Lufthansa group. AFP
