GERMAN TRAIN DRIVERS THREATEN STRIKE, PUT SUMMER TRAVEL IN LIMBO

With coronavirus case counts going down, temperatures going up and summer vacation looming, Germany's railway workers on Tuesday told the country to prepare for a possible season of labor dispute disruptions, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

The Union of German Train Drivers (GDL) broke off talks about pay and working conditions on Tuesday and said it was preparing to start employing work stoppages. It did not say when any labor action might start, nor to what degree any strike might affect train operations.

GDL members had completed the fourth round of talks with Deutsche Bahn on Monday, with no results reached. Claus Weselsky said on Tuesday that Deutsche Bahn had not been negotiating in good faith and had made proposals that would result in worse working conditions.

Should there be a strike, it would be the first Deutsche Bahn has experienced since 2018, when members of the EVG union walked out. GDL members have not struck for six years. Deutsche Bahn criticized the plans.

"The GDL is striking during a time during which millions are hoping to return to normal after a long stretch of pandemic and are looking forward to travel again," said the company, calling for a return to labor negotiations.

A spokesperson said that choosing to leave the talks now was poorly thought out and "absolutely unnecessary."

The company said that, during Monday's talks, it had proposed a system of pay increases like that used by members of Germany's civil service. But GDL wants to talk about higher levels of base pay, not an altered system of pay hikes.

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