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| Striking GDL workers |
On May 5, thousands of German train drivers and railway workers embarked on a week-long strike, the longest rail strike in the country’s post-war history, after fraught industrial negotiations broke down again.
Approximately two thirds of Germany’s long distance trains and a third of regional trains have been cancelled, with trains in the eastern region around Halle, Leipzig, and Dresden reduced to around 15 percent of services.
Some subway systems were also affected, including those in Hamburg and Berlin.
Deutsche Bahn accounts for about a fifth of Germany's freight transport – around 1 million tonnes per day – as well as moving 5.5 million passengers daily.
During earlier railway strikes, economists from the Federation of German Industries estimated that extended train strikes could cost Germany's economy "up to 100 million euros per day", and German industry has, predictably, condemned the strike.
In November last year, train drivers announced an until-then-unprecedented four-day strike, but then shortened it to three days, the longest since a GDL-led national strike in 2007.
Rail workers from the German train drivers union, the Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer
(GDL), have repeatedly brought the country to a standstill in recent
weeks, with rolling strikes against the state-owned rail company Deutsche Bahn AG.
The immediate cause of the nation-wide rail strikes — the biggest in
recent German history — is a dispute over wage increases. The
34,000-strong GDL has turned down a 4.5% pay rise plus a one-off pay-out
of 600 euros that was accepted by two other unions covering rail
workers, and is demanding an increase of up to 30%, claiming that German
train drivers are paid less than their European counterparts. The 4.5%
deal would also represent a net decline in wages, which have stagnated
and dropped in recent years.
At the same time, Deutsche Bahn, which was corporatised after merging with East German rail company Deutsche Reichsbahn,
is expecting up to 2.4 billion euros in operating profits in 2007.
Since German unification in 1990, over 400,000 rail workers have lost
their jobs — 100,000 alone under the current management of corporate
hardliner Hartmut Mehdorn. In July, right-wing German Chancellor Angela
Merkel lent further support to Mehdorn's management when her cabinet
approved plans to privatise up to 49% of Deutsche Bahn, plans that the
current strike may place in jeopardy.
