The federal government gives rail travelers no hope of a quick end to the labor dispute.

"I'm afraid that it will be difficult to defuse it in the short term," warned Deutsche Bahn representative Enak Ferlemann on Thursday.

The reason is that the train drivers' union GDL is in the background about political goals.

"So my guess is that there will be a longer argument."

The strike by the GDL hit holiday and rush hour traffic on Thursday, the second day.

In local transport, the train wants to bring travelers to their destination with around 20 to 30 percent of the train offer.

On Wednesday, the railway had spoken of 40 percent of the trains that had run.

In long-distance traffic, ten percent more trains than the day before were used when only every fourth IC or ICE was running.

"These are political goals for which one cannot actually strike"

The GDL strike is due to end on Friday night.

It was optimistic that traffic would then run as usual over the course of Friday.

According to its own information, the group also assumes that it will be able to cope with the postponed trips in the next week.

The GDL, in turn, wants to decide how the labor dispute will continue.

State Secretary Ferlemann suspected that the GDL is now formally concerned with wages, but in reality it is about other things such as collective bargaining law and the development of the railway. You want the separation of the rail network from the group. "These are political goals for which one cannot actually strike," said the CDU politician. Political strikes are not allowed in Germany. You have to argue about political issues. "But not in the form of a wage strike, please." He appeals to everyone to come to the negotiating table quickly. "Although I tend to believe that it is difficult."

In an initial interim assessment of the strike, the GDL spoke of a success.

“The colleagues are frustrated and angry.

You make this clear by taking part in this labor dispute, ”said Vice-Boss Norbert Quitter.

It is in the hands of the railway management whether there is a negotiable offer or whether the strike should continue.

Decision on further strikes in the coming week

After failed collective bargaining, the GDL members voted in favor of the strike. The railway had recently offered the GDL wage increases in two steps: 1.5 percent on January 1, 2022 and 1.7 percent on March 1, 2023, with a term until the end of June 2024. This is not enough for the GDL. Among other things, she calls for earlier wage increases, a shorter term and a corona bonus of 600 euros. The union does not want to strike at the weekend. Further labor disputes are to be discussed in the next week.

The conflict is made even more difficult by the rivalry between the GDL and the larger railway and transport union (EVG), which has already signed a collective agreement with the railway. EVG boss Klaus-Dieter Hommel attributed the severity of the dispute to it: "It's about the existence of the GDL," he said on Deutschlandfunk. The GDL wanted to establish itself as the largest union in the railways and gambled away in the process. Overall, however, the disputes between the unions are damaging the employees: "Any form of division only benefits the other side."

Cooperation is therefore possible in principle. “But that means that you have to trust each other,” said the EVG boss. A confrontation course should not be run by the GDL as it has been for many years. The industrial peace was destroyed. "If all of this is turned off, we are immediately ready to sit down at the table and talk about how to deal sensibly with one another." If the GDL now achieves a better result in the conflict, it is clear that the EVG can renegotiate was agreed with the railway.