The next rail strike has begun. It started in the evening with freight traffic. Passengers are only affected later.
The strike by the train drivers’ union GDL at Deutsche Bahn began on Wednesday evening in the group’s freight transport. “The strike has started in the first areas of DB Cargo,” said a spokesman when asked. The strike is scheduled to end at 5 a.m. on Friday. It is the GDL’s fifth industrial dispute in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute at the railway. On Thursday morning it will be expanded to include passenger transport.
According to its chairman Claus Weselsky, the union wants to use the 35-hour strike to once again draw attention to the core demand for a 35-hour week for shift workers with full wage compensation.
This is the fifth strike in the collective bargaining dispute that has been going on since November. The railway is expecting severe restrictions in long-distance, regional and S-Bahn traffic nationwide. The GDL union does not want to announce further strikes around two days in advance, as it has done so far.
Source: Stern
