The German chemical industry is suffering from the continuous rail strikes, according to branch organisation VCI. The organisation’s director states that the industry cannot afford more strikes, and calls for labour union GDL and Deutsche Bahn to come to an agreement. “We simply cannot afford another standstill of the railways,” says head of VCI Wolgang […]
Category: DB
DB’s third attempt to take GDL to court fails
Deutsche Bahn is trying in many ways to stop the wave of strikes announced by the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL). Most recently, the company tried to take legal action against the union for the third time. However, the Frankfurt am Main Labor Court ruled in favour of GDL, stating that the strikes are proportionate, […]
Third time’s the charm? DB sues GDL once again over strike dispute
Deutsche Bahn (DB) is for the third time taking legal action against the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL). This time, the company is appealing to the Frankfurt am Main Labor Court to stop the strike planned for tonight, Monday 11 March. The main reason behind DB’s actions is “the far too short lead time of […]
GDL to stage 24-hour strike starting tonight
The German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) is staging its sixth round of strikes in the context of its dispute with Deutsche Bahn (DB). For the freight industry, the action will start today, Monday 11 March at 6 pm and will end tomorrow, Tuesday 12 March at 6 pm. For non-freight-related operations, the strike will start […]
More GDL strikes will come, but no date has been set yet
A solution to the dispute between Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the German Union of Train Drivers (GDL) still seems unattainable after roughly five months of negotiations. Another round of strikes is in the books, but more are on the horizon, as GDL’s boss Claus Weselsky pointed out. During a video interview with German media outlet […]
GDL calls for 35-hour strike to get 35-hour working week
The German Union of Locomotive Drivers (GDL) called for a 35-hour strike in protest of the ongoing negotiations with Deutsche Bahn for a new collective bargaining agreement. For the rail freight industry, the initiative will start on Wednesday, 6 March at 6 pm and last until Friday, 8 March at 5 am. The choice of […]
DB vs GDL: negotiations failed, new strikes on the horizon?
The negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the German Union of Locomotive Drivers (GDL) seems to have taken another wrong turn. GDL accused DB of leaking confidential information to German media. On the other hand, the German company is saying that the union is “letting the negotiations collapse”. […]
‘Dark clouds’ gather over German rail renovation plan
German rail freight association Die Güterbahnen sees ‘dark clouds’ in the rail renovation plan proposed by DB and the federal government. The association identifies a number of issues in the June 2022 plan that it expects to hinder rail traffic disproportionately. The renovation plan aims to renovate 40 rail corridors that total over 4,000 kilometres […]
Recovery and stagnation: German rail survey reveals mixed results
The German rail sector fully recovered from the pandemic in 2022. According to an annual German market survey, German rail freight exceeded its pre-pandemic performance levels by 10 per cent. However, performance also stagnated in the second half of the year. According to an annual survey by the Bundesnetzagentur on the performance of the rail […]
DB vs GDL: strike ends, negotiations to resume
The strike announced by the German Train Drivers (GDL) trade union between 23-29 January ended 24 hours earlier than planned. This means that for rail freight, trains started running again in the evening of Sunday, 28 January. GDL will now sit back at the negotiating table with Deutsche Bahn (DB) between 5 February and 3 […]