The monster strike by the train drivers’ union GDL is restricting the lives of millions of Germans. However, the industrial dispute is not really hated. Why is that? Five attempts at explanation.
If you want to experience the consequences of the rail strike up close, all you have to do these days is get on a subway. Wagons are bursting at the seams, people are extremely annoyed, and the tracks are full of rubbish. Commuters arrive late for work, have to take detours or switch to cars, only to find themselves stuck in gigantic traffic jams. And those are just the restrictions in rush hour traffic.
Anyone who repeatedly disrupts the lives of millions of Germans for months on end will only reap anger and frustration. One might think. One would think. But that’s only true to a limited extent. Surveys these days are showing a more ambivalent picture: almost half of Germans support the train drivers’ strikes, according to the ZDF political barometer a few days ago. Even for the six-day wave of strikes, the latest escalation by the GDL union, 41 percent of Germans still understand, as figures from “Forsa” show. Where does this support come from? Five attempts at explanation.
1. The spirit of the times
What should not be forgotten: The strike is taking place in a social environment that is tough. Trust in politics has been severely shaken. People are protesting, sometimes using radical means. The farmers have already benefited from the mood in the country. Although they only make up a fraction of the population, many people expressed solidarity with the farmers’ actions against the traffic light cuts. It’s clear: the farmers’ protests restrict public life less than the train drivers’ strikes, and they were also against the federal government, so things are easy these days. But like the farmers, the train drivers should also benefit from a zeitgeist dividend: Anything that looks like a tough and uncompromising fight against “those up there” will be successful.
2. The authenticity factor
Class struggle: He can. Claus Weselsky is causing quite a ruckus, and the conflict-happy union boss is also heading towards confrontation in his rhetoric. Wedges against the railway managers as “rivets in the pinstripes” and “full-headed”, insults them as “resistant to advice”. This doesn’t necessarily serve to find a compromise. But one thing you can’t blame the GDL boss: that he wouldn’t try everything for his people, just as one would want from a top trade unionist.
What helps him: He was once a train driver himself, so he knows what he’s talking about and is not suspected of having learned strike theory in some introductory seminar and chosen the railway as a random testing ground. That certainly doesn’t give him popularity in the country at the heights of Boris Pistorius, but his insistence at least commands respect from a significant part of the republic. Weselsky’s railway workers definitely: In December, 97 percent of the participating GDL members voted for indefinite strikes. It is Weselsky’s last stand, after this collective bargaining round and almost 16 years as GDL boss, the mustachioed agitator is calling it quits.
3. The admiration
They go through it cold as ice, just stay tough, really dare to do something! Some people may look at the train drivers’ strike in this or similar way. With a touch of envy, but with a lot of admiration. Even under public pressure, the railway workers do not give in and show their employer again and again that nothing works without them. As a result, we see a state-owned company with a turnover of more than 56 billion euros and almost 325,000 employees that has to largely stop operations because the most important employees do not show up for work.
Honestly, who wouldn’t want to do that? Prove to your boss: I’m telling you, nothing works here without me! The striking train drivers find sympathy from all those who feel that they are not sufficiently valued at work or by society. And one or two of them may not only feel admiration, but also gain hope again. Someday…
4. The railway board
If the enemy of my enemy is my friend, as they say, then the train drivers don’t have to worry about the continued solidarity of the Germans. Because there is someone who people, especially travelers and commuters, like even less than striking train drivers: the board of Deutsche Bahn.
Are the train drivers to blame for the trains constantly arriving late? Or because they fail completely? Are the train drivers responsible for the fact that the toilets in the region are unusable and that the on-board bistro only serves cold coffee again? That the route network is falling into disrepair and renovation is stalling? Even. The railway has simply been mismanaged for years.
Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that the railway board continues to be paid handsomely. And rewarded. CEO Richard Lutz alone earns almost 1.3 million euros per year, while human resources manager Martin Seiler earns a salary of around 700,000 euros. And because that’s apparently not enough, the board members received retroactive bonuses totaling five million euros for 2022 – even though the ailing company missed its goals for punctuality and customer satisfaction.
5. The victim role
The Germans may even simply feel sorry for the supposedly exploited train drivers. For this high level of sympathy, the railway union deserves the PR Award 2024. Because GDL boss Weselsky has attributed victimhood to his clientele, which may not fit with the facts on the German labor market.
In a national comparison, train drivers already earn above average, as the pay statistics from the Federal Employment Agency show. With an average gross monthly salary of 3,735 euros, they are among the best paid skilled workers in the Republic (average: 3,386 euros). Only nursing professionals (3,944 euros) and bank clerks (5,235 euros) rank above them. Other professions with a high level of responsibility for people have to get by with less money: educators with 3,638 euros, geriatric care specialists with 3,611 euros. Bus drivers who have a significantly higher risk of accidents are paid just 3,177 euros. Even in the ailing DB Group, train drivers are among the best paid employees.
Why do many people still think that the train drivers’ industrial action is okay? See above.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
