Rail strike: GDL boss drives attack on rail management

The employees of Deutsche Bahn had to answer a lot of questions on Wednesday. Because many travelers were obviously surprised by the train drivers’ strike. On Wednesday only every fourth long-distance train ran, and S-Bahn connections in Berlin, for example, were thinned out. In the middle of the holiday season, the strike hit hundreds of thousands of travelers and commuters. The train drivers’ union GDL spoke of around 700 trains that had already stopped in the morning. The labor dispute is going “excellent”, said GDL boss Claus Weselsky on Wednesday afternoon in front of union members: “We are fighting to ensure that the pensions of the railway workers are preserved. We are fighting for the income increase to come in 2021. That with a Corona- Bonus is recognized that you and many thousands of other railway workers have maintained train traffic in the most adverse times. That is the message. And that’s why this corporate management gets the red card. And you ultimately delivered the strike. ” According to the railway, at least the emergency timetable worked stably. While a quarter of the trains ran in long-distance traffic, it was around 40 percent in local traffic. There are also competing railways here that are not on strike by the GDL. Group spokesman Achim Stauß: “But in the end a predictable and stable offer for the passengers. Nevertheless, many trains were also very full, which is of course not ideal in these times. But the responsibility for this lies with the train drivers’ union, which has broken its promise And announced this massive nationwide strike at very short notice, namely only 15 hours in advance. ” The railway asked its customers to refrain from traveling if possible. The tickets can be used flexibly until August 20th. In freight transport, the group warned of a rupture in the supply chain. However, power plants and large industrial companies could still be supplied with great effort.