The head of the train drivers' union GDL, Claus Weselsky, has rejected the new tariff offer of the railway as unacceptable and announced a continuation of the current strike.

The offer of the management was "not acceptable in terms of content," said Weselsky on Thursday in the ARD.

The bad news for rail customers is: "The strike continues."

He accused the web guide of being “Janus-faced”. This attitude has become evident with the new offer. The actual goal of management is to get rid of the GDL. Weselsky added that the union would “of course” continue to negotiate with Deutsche Bahn. Previously, the railway had offered, among other things, a corona bonus of 600 euros and a term of the collective agreement of 36 months.

As announced, the new round of strikes in passenger traffic began at 2 a.m., Deutsche Bahn announced.

Freight traffic has been on strike since Wednesday afternoon.

"We regret that the GDL strike is now running despite the new offer from DB," said a DB spokeswoman.

Since the start of the strike, a replacement timetable has now applied again.

During the strike days, Deutsche Bahn wants to ensure that around a quarter of the trains on the normal timetable are offered on long-distance transport. 

Bahn personnel director: irresponsible industrial action

In regional and S-Bahn traffic, the company is aiming for an offer of around 40 percent.

But there are regional differences.

"The main strikes are in the east and in some metropolitan regions," said the spokeswoman.

In many regions of Germany there were train cancellations and delays on Thursday morning.

The GDL announced on Monday the third and so far longest strike in the tariff dispute with the railway.

The strike should end on Tuesday at 2 a.m.

DB Personnel Director Martin Seiler appealed to the GDL on Wednesday to come back to the negotiating table and stop the "irresponsible industrial action".

"We meet the central requirements of the GDL", he said with a view to the new tariff offer of the railway. 

Specifically, the group wants to accommodate the train drivers' union with both the corona bonus and the term of the future collective agreement.

The premium should be paid in the same amount as in the public service, said the railway. 

In the organizational area of ​​the GDL, depending on the pay group, 400 or 600 euros would be distributed.

For the duration, instead of 40 months, Deutsche Bahn would now offer 36 months.

"At the same time, we are offering a wage increase of 3.2 percent - which is exactly what the GDL is demanding," explained Seiler.

GDL boss Claus Weselsky recently called for "movement" on the part of the DB management - the "Augsburger Allgemeine" and the Phoenix broadcaster told Weselsky that the railway had not moved since the last round of negotiations on June 7th.