Passenger transport by train will be stopped for six days, as part of the protest by the train drivers' union to force the state operator Deutsche Bahn to discuss demands. The pressure measure coincides with a paralysis of cargo transport and with a particularly fragile moment in the German economy.
First modification:
2 min
It is the fourth railway strike since last November, and begins just two weeks after the previous strike. According to Deutsche Bahn, the measure will affect 80% of long-distance routes, and will impact the supply chain of chemical and steel products.
“European freight traffic through the Alps, Poland or to Scandinavia, as well as seaports in the Netherlands or Belgium, will also be affected,” Deutsche Bahn warned.
Cargo volume had already been reduced, as numerous customers had canceled shipments, even before the strike.
Disagreements regarding salaries and working hours have triggered this series of protests by the GDL union, which has not achieved changes in the position of the state-owned company that manages railway operations in the country.
No progress
Drivers have requested a reduction from 38 to 35 hours per week without a pay cut, to which Deutsche Bahn has responded negatively, calling the demand a “repetition of well-known maximum demands.”
The strike has forced users to look for alternatives in land and air transportation, as they did during previous strikes. The first two lasted 24 hours, and the last three days.
Only one in five long-distance trains will remain active during the stop, which will last until 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The impact is less on local or interregional routes, which in some cases are operated by private companies that continue to operate normally.
A spokesperson for the operator pointed out that it was time to sit down at the table to talk, given the “massive impact on the economy” that the six days of strike would have, and union leader Claus Weselsky assured that they were ready to give in, but regretted that his counterpart was not in tune.
“We have to stop longer and more radically because railway management resists advice,” Weselsky complained.
The German Transport Minister, Volker Wissing, warned in statements to public radio Deutschlandfunk that he did not rule out carrying out an arbitration process, given the slim prospects of there being a rapprochement between the positions.
“If things are so stalemate that we obviously can't talk to each other anymore, then we urgently need mediation or arbitration,” Wissing said.
Depressed economy
Experts say the shutdowns could cost the already weakened German economy up to $1.1 billion.
The protest by the train drivers joins other demonstrations that reflect the growing social discontent in the country, such as a nighttime takeover of Hamburg by farmers, who will tour the city with more than 100 tractors.
Supply chains are already suffering from the conflict in the Red Sea, where shipping routes have come under attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels.
With AP and Reuters
#Germany #enters #longest #railway #strike #history