Train drivers and railway workers in Germany are on a nationwide strike over wages, news agency AFP reported.
The strike began last night around 7pm (local time; it translates to around 10:30pm on Tuesday as per the Indian Standard Time) when the walkout began with cargo trains.Hours later, the strike is scheduled to extend to the passenger train network, the news agency added, noting that only one in four long-distance trains will be in service on Wednesday and Thursday.
This is the first strike to hit rail traffic in Germany since December 2018, when a stoppage was called for four hours. The issue has now dealt a blow to summer holidaymakers in Germany and added up to the logistics and supply problems already plaguing the country’s industry.
Deutsche Bahn (DB), a German railway company that is also one of the largest operators of its type in Europe, blasted the move as an “unnecessary escalation on the back of rail customers”.
“Just as people are travelling more again and using trains, GDL leaders are destroying the upswing that we urgently need given the huge damage from the coronavirus pandemic,” said Martin Seiler, DB board member for human resources and legal affairs.
The GDL (Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer), representing workers in train companies, is the trade union that is organising the railway strike. Its leader Claus Weselsky, in turn, accused the DB managers of “lining their pockets while the little guys are getting pockets picked”.
The union claims to be fighting for better remuneration for train drivers. Its demands include a 1.4 per cent pay hike and a bonus of 600 euros for 2021, and a further wage rise of 1.8 per cent in 2022. The Deutsche Bahn company, on the other hand, has offered to phase in a 3.2-per cent wage increase in two steps but with the intention to apply it in 2022 and 2023.
Critics have accused GDL of using the strike to gain greater influence and attract members from larger union EVG — which covers railway workers and public transport employees. However, Weselsky argued that the GDL “intentionally chose this timeframe in the week to limit the impact on weekend and holiday traffic” and that it was “never the best time” for a strike.