The outgoing GDL boss Claus Weselsky is responsible for more than 12,000 hours of strikes at Deutsche Bahn. Now he is retiring. Can passengers breathe a sigh of relief?
With tears in his eyes and to a standing ovation, the long-standing chairman of the German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL), Claus Weselsky, said goodbye to his members and his organization. 16 years as national chairman, 234 industrial disputes and 12,012 hours of strikes – according to the GDL’s count – lie behind Weselsky. This often got on passengers’ nerves. Now, at the age of 65, he is retiring.
Whether passengers can hope for less escalation in rail wage negotiations in the future also depends on the new federal board of the GDL, which was elected at the general meeting in Dresden. It is led by Mario Reiß, for whom almost 95 percent of the delegates voted. He is complemented by the two deputies Lars Jedinat and Christian Deckert.
“We want to move forward as a team in the future”
After the general meeting, Reiß rejected the idea of a one-man show, which the GDL often resembled under Weselsky. “This is a new image of this GDL: We want to act as a team in the future,” he stressed. This had already been the case under Weselsky. However, the team structure should be more visible to the public in the future.
In addition, the GDL will become more political and will become more involved in rail policy issues than before. “The GDL will continue to speak out loudly in this rail development business,” said Reiß. He also wants to adopt a somewhat calmer tone in the future, he stressed, alluding to Weselsky’s legendary tirades.
But the GDL was not more conciliatory at its meeting. Firstly, because Weselsky’s departure is not a complete one. He remains connected to the union as honorary chairman – and has already announced that he will also comment on future wage negotiations with Deutsche Bahn in the usual manner. In addition, Weselsky promised his successor that he would “be available to us in every situation, in an advisory capacity of course,” said Mario Reiß.
GDL continues on a collision course
In his speeches to the delegates, the new boss also made it clear that the GDL remains on a confrontational course on issues that are important to it: “In a company where an employer attacks us aggressively and arbitrarily applies the Collective Bargaining Act, a real social partnership cannot flourish,” said Reiß, addressing the Deutsche Bahn’s human resources director, Martin Seiler, who was also present.
The Collective Bargaining Act (TEG) stipulates that in a company with two competing unions, only the collective agreements of the employee representation with the largest number of members are applied. In the case of the railway, in most companies this is the Railway and Transport Union (EVG).
The law is not only the main reason why the relationship between his GDL, the EVG and Deutsche Bahn is largely broken, not only from Weselsky’s point of view. “This law divides the workforce and brings discord into the companies,” explained the deputy federal chairman of the German Civil Service Federation (dbb), Volker Geyer, at the GDL general assembly. “This law is not a collective bargaining unity law, but a collective bargaining division law.”
Weselsky as “most unpopular Saxon”
Weselsky has dedicated a large part of his 16-year term in office to the fight against the TEG. The issue subtly influenced many of his wage negotiations with Deutsche Bahn. The Dresden native never minced his words and knew how to personally attack Deutsche Bahn management or undesirable politicians.
While he was undisputed within the union, his industrial action and the lengthy wage negotiations at the railways led to anger and frustration among many passengers. Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer said at the general meeting that he often got laughs by saying that Weselsky had now taken over the title of “most unpopular Saxon in all of Germany” from Walter Ulbricht. He wanted to apologize to Weselsky for this comment at Weselsky’s expense. “But it went down well.”
The new GDL federal executive board will probably want to avoid similar popularity comparisons with former GDR heads of state.
Source: Stern
