BERLIN (MNI) – The German train drivers’ union GDL will start
staging warning strikes in passenger and freight transport from next
Monday to push through its demands in the current pay round, the German
daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported Tuesday.
Moreover, the union will call a ballot for an unlimited full-blown
strike to start in March, the paper wrote.
In January, the GDL broke off negotiations with state-owned railway
carrier Deutsche Bahn and six private train carriers.
The union is seeking a sector-wide pay contract in order to fight
wage dumping in the sector. Private train operators are currently paying
wages which are as much as 30% lower than those paid by Deutsche Bahn,
according to GDL. The union wants to settle for a contract which
gradually brings the wages in the private sector in line with those paid
by Deutsche Bahn.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$G$$$,M$X$$$,MGX$$$]
