Day-Long Strike
October 12, 2007
Many German commuters took to the roads on Friday, Oct. 12, while others were forced to wait for one of the few trains still running.
Germany's eastern states, as well as Munich, Stuttgart and Berlin, are most affected by the strike, which began at 2 a.m. Friday morning, a Deutsche Bahn spokesperson told Associated Press.
Manfred Schell, the head of the GDL union, which represents 1,500 train drivers, called the strike "a complete success" with some 85 percent of targeted trains not running.
The strike, which follows last Friday's three-hour labor action, is set to continue until midnight. The industrial action is a rarity in Germany as unions and companies usually work closely to reach collective agreements.
Half of trains running
Deutsche Bahn said because the strike wasn't announced until Thursday evening, it was unable to implement a comprehensive alternative transport plan. Some long-distance trains have been used for regional transport and extra busses are in service.
The railway said 1,700 trains had been cancelled by midday, and the strike would cost "millions" of euros, director of commuter services Karl-Friedrich Rausch told N24 television.
About half of the local trains were running Friday morning. About 20 percent of train drivers do not belong to the striking German train drivers' union, GDL. Others conductors are civil servants who not allowed to strike. Long-distance trains are in service, as a court ruling has forbidden their drivers from striking.
Many of the network's 10 million daily passengers drove to work, creating traffic jams in major cities, automobile club ADAC spokesman Maxi Hartung told German television.
Union wants one third more pay
After a meeting Thursday evening with GDL chief Manfred Schell, Deutsche Bahn boss Hartmut Mehdorn announced that his company would make a new offer by Monday, which he said would put an end to strikes, at least through the end of the month.
Deutsche Bahn has reached a deal with two other unions which allows for a 4.5 percent pay hike and higher pay for longer hours, resulting in a package totaling 10 percent. GDL has rejected the deal and continued to demand a 31 percent increase in pay and separately negotiated contracts for drivers.
"We would withdraw the 31 percent demand if Deutsche Bahn discussed a separate agreement," GDL said Thursday.
Deutsche Bahn has refused to negotiate a separate deal from what was agreed with the other two rail unions.
Deutsche Bahn accused of "dishonest means"
GDL's Claus Weselsky said Deutsche Bahn had illegally threatened strikers with dismissal Friday.
"For us, the dishonest means with which the employer is attempting to undermine the lawful labor dispute are unacceptable," Weselsky said.
Deutsche Bahn board member Karl-Friedrich Rausch said GDL bore sole responsibility for the "foreseeable chaos" in transport by calling a strike at such short notice.
Norbert Hansen, the head of Transnet, one of Germany's other rail unions, said Friday that the GDL action was "a totally superfluous strike," adding that GDL leader Schell should have cancelled his strike call pending the new Deutsche Bahn offer.
According to a survey by Stern newsmagazine earlier this week, 55 percent of Germans sympathize with the strikers despite the inconvenience caused by the strikes.
Deutsche Bahn, which serves 5 million passengers on some 28,000 trains daily, is Europe's largest rail company. The German government plans to partially privatize it by 2009.