2021 German national rail strike

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The 2021 German national rail strike was a labour strike by Deutsche Bahn workers in Germany that lasted from August to September 2021. [1] [2]

Contents

Background

Deutsche Bahn is a German railway company. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a private joint-stock company (AG), with the Federal Republic of Germany being its single shareholder. [3] [4] The company describes itself as the second-largest transport company in the world, after the German postal and logistics company Deutsche Post / DHL, and is the largest railway operator and infrastructure owner in Europe. Deutsche Bahn was the largest railway company in the world by revenue in 2015.

The Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer (GDL) is a German trade union that represents workers in train companies. It has a membership of 34 000. [5]

Strike

In collective bargaining negotiations, the GDL asked for 3,2% pay raise over 28 months, as well as a COVID-19 bonus of €600 in 2021. Deutsche Bahn, on the other, demanded that the total pay raise of 3,2% be stretched over 40 months, as well as coming without any COVID-19 bonuses. [6]

After the workers voted 95% in favour on a turnout of 70%, the GDL announced that it would begin strike action on the evening of 10 August, the first rail strike in Germany since 2018 and the first major rail strike since 2015. [7] [8]

On 23 August, the GDL launched a second round of strikes. [9] In response, Deutsche Bahn accused the union of "striking to gain more membership and influence." [10] The strike caused the cancellation of around 70% of long-distance trains that week. [11]

On 30 August, the GDL launched a third round of strikes, due to last until 7 September. [12] [13] After the third round of strikes concluded, the GDL announced that it would launch a fourth round of strikes if no agreement could be reached before 13 September. [14]

In early September, Deutsche Bahn announced that it would suing the GDL, in an attempt to forcibly end the strike. [15] On 2 September, the labour court in Frankfurt rejected Deutsche Bahn's demand for an injunction. [16] Deutsche Bahn then appealed the ruling, and was denied again on appeal. [17]

On 4 September, the chair of the German Trade Union Confederation, who the GDL was not affiliated with, accused the GDL of dividing workers, stating that "in this case one group of staff, like the train drivers, is pushing through its particular interests at the cost of the collective interests of all other Bahn employees." That same day, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported that a group within the Christian Democratic Union of Germany was planning to introduce laws that would increase restrictions on transport trade unions' ability to call strikes. [18]

On 16 September, the GDL and Deutsche Bahn announced that they had reached a deal including a pay raise of 3.3% over 32 months, two one-time bonuses during the months, as well as assurances concerning pensions. [19]

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References

  1. ↑ "Tysk strejk påverkar svensk export". gp.se. August 11, 2021.
  2. ↑ "EXPLAINED: How the German rail strikes could affect you". September 5, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Members to the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bahn AG". Archived from the original on 2012-10-25.
  4. ↑ "Deutsche Bahn AG at a glance". Deutsche Bahn. Archived from the original on 26 April 2009.
  5. ↑ En Allemagne, la justice interdit la grande grève des conducteurs de train, Le Monde , 8 August 2007 (in French)
  6. ↑ "Deutsche Bahn engineers' strike causes chaos across Germany | DW | 11.08.2021". DW.COM. Deutsche Welle.
  7. ↑ "Germany's train drivers call three-day strike | DW | 10.08.2021". DW.COM. Deutsche Welle.
  8. ↑ "German train drivers call strike in escalating wage dispute". August 10, 2021.
  9. ↑ "German rail strike: Union extends action to passenger trains | DW | 23.08.2021". DW.COM. Deutsche Welle.
  10. ↑ "GDL is taking things too far, says DB; real reason behind strike is fight to gain influence | Deutsche Bahn AG". www.deutschebahn.com.
  11. ↑ "Second rail strike upends German travel and transport". POLITICO. August 24, 2021.
  12. ↑ News, A. B. C. "German train drivers to stage third strike over pay". ABC News.
  13. ↑ "German train drivers plan third wave of strikes starting Wednesday". August 30, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Are the German rail strikes going to end soon?". September 10, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Deutsche Bahn takes striking train drivers' union to court". euronews. September 3, 2021.
  16. ↑ "German train operator fails to get injunction to end strike". AP NEWS. September 2, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Deutsche Bahn loses second appeal against rail strike | DW | 03.09.2021". DW.COM. Deutsche Welle.
  18. ↑ "Trade unions clash as German rail strike rolls on | DW | 04.09.2021". DW.COM. Deutsche Welle.
  19. ↑ "German rail operator, union agree on pay deal to end strike". AP NEWS. September 16, 2021.
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