Strike Goes Ahead
August 8, 2007
A labor court has prohibited German train drivers from staging a strike against freight trains Thursday, saying it would harm the economy. The court will consider an appeal by the German train drivers' union (GDL) on Friday.
The union said it would respect the injunction, but later Wednesday announced it planned targeted strikes in Germany's two biggest cities.
Drivers of local commuter trains will walk off the job from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Injunction against freight strike
Some 8,000 drivers of the GDL on Monday voted overwhelmingly to strike.
Germany's state-owned Deutsche Bahn (DB) warned that a strike against freight trains would also cause massive disruptions to rail passenger traffic. Deutsche Bahn carries 5 million passengers daily.
A labor court in Nuremberg agreed that a more general strike would greatly impact the German economy. That consideration outweighed the rights of the drivers to press their case through industrial action, the court ruled Wednesday. The temporary injunction prohibited freight train drivers from walking off the job.
The GDL appealed the decision, which will get another hearing on Friday.
Businesses have expressed concern about widescale work stoppage. The steel industry, car manufacturers and bulk chemical companies would be the worst affected. A total stoppage could mean a loss of 100 million euros ($137 million) each day, according to estimates by the Berlin-based German Institute for Economic Research (DIW.)
Mediator wanted
Deutsche Bahn's human resources director Margret Suckale said the company's hand "continues to be stretched out to the GDL," but added that the union needed to act quickly.
Both sides have said they would be willing to involve an independent mediator. Former chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who left office in 2005, was among possible mediators mentioned.
Last month, DB struck a deal with two other unions representing 134,000 rail staff. They got a 4.5-percent raise, plus a bonus. The deal was rejected by the GDL, which represents about 12,000 train drivers. The union wants a 30 percent pay increase. The GDL also wants its pay talks uncoupled from those with the other unions.