German rail negotiations have hit the buffers again

The dispute between German railway operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the GDL, the union representing most of the company’s train drivers, had still not been settled as Workplace Report went to press.

At the end of August, both sides accepted the outcome of a mediation process which proposed that DB should hold separate negotiations for the GDL’s train drivers alongside talks with the other unions at the company (see last month’s Workplace Report).

The negotiations took place throughout September, but brought no agreement on the substantive issues. As a result, GDL members went on strike across Germany on 5 and 12 October, although DB obtained legal injunctions to prevent industrial action in goods and long-distance traffic from going ahead.

Although the 24-hour stoppage on 12 October produced a new offer from the company, the GDL argued that this mostly involved a simple repackaging of existing payments. The union indicated that it would be prepared to begin exploratory talks with the company, but DB in turn said it wanted formal negotiations or nothing – a condition that the GDL was unwilling to accept.

Further strikes followed on 18 and 23 October, and the union is now seeking to overturn the injunctions covering its members in goods and long-distance traffic. As a GDL spokesperson said, “That sort of strike would really cost [the company] money.”