Labor Court To Rule On Legality Of German Train Strike

The Labor Court in Frankfurt will on Thursday evening (September 2, 2021) rule on the legality of a strike that the German Train Drivers' Union (GDL) began in the early hours of Thursday morning, Matthias Arnold and Burkhard Fraune reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

Photo Insert: The Deutsche Bahn City Night Line to Prague

Deutsche Bahn filed an emergency injunction against the union's strike on Thursday morning, after a new pay offer was rejected by the union on Wednesday night. The hearing is due to start at 6 pm on Thursday, according to Deutsche Bahn.

"The right to strike is precious," said Martin Seiler, Deutsche Bahn's head of personnel, "however, strikes are only permissible if they are within the framework of the applicable law. In our opinion, this is not the case with the GDL strikes."

The GDL did not initially comment on the legal steps being taken by Deutsche Bahn on Thursday. Its members began their third strike in a month early on Thursday morning, and the industrial action is scheduled to last five days.

Freight drivers have been on strike since Wednesday afternoon. The union is demanding, among other things, 3.2 percent more pay for a period of 28 months, with the first pay rise to be implemented this year.

Deutsche Bahn made a new offer on Wednesday afternoon in an attempt to stave off the strikes. The new deal included a pandemic bonus of up to 600 (707 dollars) euros, as demanded by the GDL, and a term of 36 months for the pay rise.

Until now, Deutsche Bahn has been arguing for 40 months. GDL leader Claus Weselsky rejected the offer. "We are ready to negotiate, but no one should set conditions," he said on the sidelines of a rally at Leipzig's main railway station.

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