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Train passengers face more disruption after rail strike

Train passengers may be faced with further disruption following Monday’s nationwide strike by railway workers which plunged Germany’s public transport network into chaos.

Train passengers face more disruption after rail strike
At Berlin Friedrichstraße station on Monday notice boards warn customers of disruption to services following the strike. Photo: DPA

There are also fears that more industrial action could take place in the run up to Christmas, which is one of the busiest times of the year, if the dispute is not solved.

Although services have been returning to normal after the so-called 'warning strike' by railway workers early Monday morning, there are still some logistical problems, according to train operator Deutsche Bahn (DB).

Some train delays and cancellations in the long-distance services are likely to take place on Tuesday, DB said, because vehicles and staff are not where they should be according to the timetable, following the industrial action.

Passengers have been urged to check if and when their train is running, before they set off on their journey. According to the DB spokesman, regional and suburban rail traffic, including S-Bahn services, should run according to the timetable.

The strike, which was held over a pay dispute, affected millions of passengers, with many left stranded or forced to take alternative transport.

SEE ALSO: Rail strike causes chaos throughout Germany

High speed ICE trains were cancelled throughout the country due to the four-hour strike which began at 5am. Regional services plus the S-Bahn network were also hit.

Meanwhile, the strike also had an impact on other forms of public transport such as U-Bahn services and buses as passengers piled on to them in a bid to get to their destination.

Some 1,400 trains, including cargo services, were affected, DB said.

DB customer service offices were also affected, meaning that in many stations passengers were left without information over loudspeakers or display boards.

The industrial action came after talks broke down Saturday between the DB and the EVG rail workers' union, which is demanding a 7.5 percent salary rise for 160,000 employees.

DB said that purchased tickets would remain valid up until and including next Sunday (December 16th) or could be refunded.

Passengers in Hamburg during the strike. Photo: DPA

Negotiations continue on Tuesday

The trade union and DB were getting ready to return to the negotiating table on Tuesday.

“With the warning strike, our colleagues have impressively demonstrated how serious they are about their demands,” said Regina Rusch-Ziemba, the EVG's negotiator. “This strengthens us in our negotiations.”

Both sides will meet in Berlin around 2pm.

Rusch-Ziemba added: “Our ultimate goal is to achieve a result at the negotiating table.”

Pay negotiations ended without agreement on Saturday, and resulted in the industrial action.

Members of the union demonstrated at stations across the country during the strike, holding placards calling for fairer wages.

DB had described the strike as a “completely unnecessary escalation”, insisting its offer was “attractive and met the main demands” of employees.

DB had offered a pay rise of 5.1 percent in two phases, with an option for staff to take extra time off instead, and a one-off payment of €500, DPA reported.

The rail operator is also in talks with a separate smaller rail union, the Union of German Locomotive Drivers (GDL). They have warned that their 36,000 members could also take action over a wage dispute if talks fail.

DB and GDL are also expected to resume negotiations on Tuesday in the city of Eisenach. GDL wants a 7.5 percent salary increase for its members too.

For more information on affected trains in your area visit the DB updates page.

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TRAVEL NEWS

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

Germany's Deutsche Bahn rail operator and the GDL train drivers' union have reached a deal in a wage dispute that has caused months of crippling strikes in the country, the union said.

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of 420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of 2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some 200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of 2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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