Economists estimate that the six-day rail strike could cost up to a billion euros. Train drivers want to work less. Now the right to strike is up for debate.
Almost six days, 136 hours in total. The approximately 40,000 members of the German Locomotive Drivers' Union (GDL) want to stop working for so long. The strike, planned until next Monday, could be one of the longest and most expensive in post-war German history. How much union action could cost, what role union leader Claus Weselsky plays and why restrictions on the right to strike are being discussed.
1. What do train drivers want – and what would Deutsche Bahn be willing to do?
German train drivers want more money – and work less. The dispute mainly revolves around the latter: the union wants to reduce the working day by three hours by 2028 – from the current 38 to 35 hours per week. 18 private railway companies signed this proposal. However, the largest employer in the railway sector – the state-owned company Deutsche Bahn (DB) – resists this. Your offer: By 2026, train drivers should be able to choose. Either work one hour less per week from now on – or receive a 2.7% pay rise.
2. What is the role of controversial union leader Claus Weselsky?
The 64-year-old Saxon Weselsky cuts an attractive figure. Some see him as a courageous worker, others accuse him of taking the country hostage. But he is not acting entirely on his own initiative: 97% of his union's members voted in favor of a multi-day work stoppage.
It's clear that Weselsky's style creates hardened fronts: in an interview, he accused DB managers of creating “inhumane” working conditions. DB management is arrogant and would only refuse to implement the unionists' demands because they could already use tax money to compensate for the loss of income due to the strike.
DB negotiators, in turn, accuse Weselsky of refusing to reach an agreement. They describe GDL’s contracts with 18 railway companies as a “public relations stunt”. These are linked to the union reaching an agreement with DB. What caused discontent was that Weselsky and the GDL founded Fair Train, a temporary workers' cooperative that was supposed to place train drivers at railway companies. The idea: Fair Train employs its drivers on better terms that DB refuses to offer. The state-owned company therefore doubts that the GDL has the right to negotiate collective agreements due to this dual role.
3. How much does the railway strike cost and how does it affect Austria?
The German economy could lose up to a billion euros in the next six days because freight transport will also be paralyzed as a result of the strike. This is what the Cologne Institute of German Economics estimates. Other economists doubt the number; the consequences cannot really be estimated in such a short period of time. “There is a threat of severe restrictions, including individual production shutdowns, cutbacks and industry shutdowns,” writes the interest group Federal Association of German Industry.
Despite the strike, the ÖBB and Westbahn run at least as far as Munich, and the route via Deutsches Eck also remains in operation. In Germany itself, an emergency timetable was drawn up, about 20% of trains were supposed to run. Bus operators and car rental companies report a sharp increase in bookings.
4. Why is there now talk of restricting the right to strike?
According to surveys, the German population is losing understanding of the constant strikes. Last year, the 180,000 members of the railway and transport union stopped working and the GDL, which is its responsibility, has already gone on strike several times. Weselsky's uncompromising stance is repeatedly interpreted as a means in the fight for new unionists.
Due to the long, costly and very short-term railway strike, CDU leader Friedrich Merz suggested restricting the right to strike for critical infrastructure employees. Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejects this, but called on train drivers to “use their right to strike wisely”.
The German right to strike derives from the Basic Law. It doesn't say exactly what is allowed or where the limits are.