German train drivers’ union GDL announces it will go on strike again from Saturday
German train drivers’ union the GDL released an official statement on Friday which said that railway employers had not improved workers' conditions, and as a result it has announced another strike, which will commence on Saturday.
Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivfuhrer (Trade Union of German Locomotive Drivers, GDL) has expressed its disappointment with the lack of action by its members’ employers in response to protests earlier this month.
Friday’s press statement said that Deutsche Bahn (German Railway) had “not moved a step,” adding that neither the industrial dispute last week nor a protest rally by GDL’s umbrella association DBB (German Civil Service Association) have so far led to a change of heart by the company.
The GDL called upon its members to participate in another strike commencing on Saturday. The strikes will affect freight traffic from August 21 at 5pm and passenger transport and infrastructure from August 23 at 2pm. The protests are set to end on August 25 at 2am.
The union said that its demands are “simple, comprehensive and justified.” It wants an increase in wages by 3.2 percent, protection of occupational pensions, a “Corona premium” of 600 euros, an improvement to working times, as well as collective agreements for the entire infrastructure, for the network, station and service and the workshops.
GDL criticized the heads of Deutsche Bahn, a company whose revenue last year was almost 40 billion euros. "Injustice has a name: DB executives,” stated the union.
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The train drivers previously went on strike from August 10 until August 13, stopping 700 German trains from operating on one of the days. Throughout the strikes, only one in four long-distance trains were operational.
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