Third and longest strike for rail customers to date: The train drivers' union GDL is calling for a five-day strike in passenger transport by Deutsche Bahn from this Thursday from 2 a.m. until Tuesday morning in the coming week.
In freight transport, the strike is due to start this Wednesday.
"It is one of the longest industrial action that we carry out and that on purpose," said union chairman Claus Weselsky on Monday in Frankfurt am Main.
"In view of the blockade of the DB managers, we are not ready and unwilling to carry out shorter industrial action here." However, open-ended strikes are currently not an option, stressed Weselsky.
The Union of German Locomotive Drivers (GDL) advocates higher pay and better working conditions for employees.
The GDL also wants to score points in the competition with the larger of the two railway unions, the Railway and Transport Union (EVG).
From the point of view of the passenger association Pro Bahn, the GDL goes overboard with the new announcement.
"There are certain rights in the Basic Law, but I have to be very careful about them," said the honorary chairman of the association, Karl-Peter Naumann, on Monday.
“I think that is no longer the case.” With the wave of strikes, the GDL is damaging the reputation of the railways and the desired turnaround in traffic.
"I know enough people who say: If things continue like this, then that's it with train travel."
"We miss the rump, to put it mildly"
The labor dispute will hit hundreds of thousands of commuters as well as numerous travelers.
The holiday season is running, in several federal states there are still school holidays.
Deutsche Bahn announced on Monday that it would also make “a reliable mobility offer” for around a quarter of the long-distance trains normally planned for the third strike.
In regional and S-Bahn traffic, there should again be a basic offer of 40 percent of the trains.
"Those who can should postpone their trip to the time before or after the strike," said the company.
Travelers could use tickets flexibly during the strike period and move forward or postpone their trips until September 17th.
A refund is also possible.
Lufthansa announced that it would use larger aircraft from Thursday due to the strike on the railways.
The group does not want to increase the flight frequency, said a spokeswoman.
The most recent strike ended on Wednesday night last week.
The railway responded with emergency timetables.
In long-distance traffic, up to 30 percent of the offer could be maintained, in regional traffic including the S-Bahn it was an average of 40 percent.
The day after the previous strikes, traffic was largely normal again.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bahn is trying to dampen the consequences of the announced five-day strike.
Travelers can use tickets flexibly for the strike period and move forward or postpone their trips until September 17, as the company announced on Monday.
A refund is also possible.
Since then, there has been no rapprochement with management in the collective bargaining dispute.
In interviews over the past few days, railway boss Richard Lutz had called on the union to return to the negotiating table.
At the same time, he accused the GDL chairman, Weselsky, of splitting the workforce with false claims.
Weselsky replied on Monday that the railway was waging a war against its own employees and that it could not win it.
About Lutz's remarks, he said: "We miss what this CEO says, to put it mildly."
The renewed labor dispute described the Bahn personnel director on Monday evening as "completely excessive".
The strike was "justified by nothing".
"The GDL top is all about expanding their power - at the expense of travelers and the economy," said Martin Seiler.
The only difference between the two sides is the term.
The board asked the GDL to return to the negotiating table.
Dispute over corona premium
The railway wants to increase wages and salaries by 3.2 percent, as demanded by the GDL.
However, the point in time at which the individual levels should take effect and how long the new collective agreement should apply is controversial.
The railway has also offered a corona bonus for this year, but without specifying it.
The GDL demands 600 euros.
There is also a struggle about company pensions;
here both sides have not yet moved towards each other.
The union wants to expand its influence in the railway company.
Before this collective bargaining round, she last struck at Deutsche Bahn in 2014 and 2015.
So she managed to negotiate a framework tariff for train attendants as well.
Now it also wants to set tariffs for vehicle maintenance, network operation and route maintenance as well as the framework conditions for the trainees.
However, this usually represents the EVG, which is why Deutsche Bahn rejects this.
Because according to the law on collective bargaining, the contract of the union that has the most members in the respective company applies.