In the deadlocked tariff dispute with the train drivers, Deutsche Bahn is now taking legal action against the GDL.

The state-owned company announced that an application was submitted to the labor court in Frankfurt am Main on Thursday morning for an injunction against the current strike in passenger and freight transport.

“The right to strike is a valuable asset,” said Martin Seiler, Chief Human Resources Officer.

“However, strikes are only permitted if they are within the framework of the applicable law.

In our opinion, this is not the case with the GDL strikes. ”According to the latest statements by the GDL, this labor dispute is evidently more about legal and political issues than about finding solutions for good working conditions at the negotiating table. 

"The aim of the railway board is to destroy the existence of the GDL"

The day before, the railway had presented the GDL with a new offer that provides for a corona premium of 600 euros and a term of the collective agreement of 36 months. So far, the railway had offered a term of 40 months and had not quantified the amount of the premium. GDL boss Claus Weselsky rejected the offer on Thursday morning as unacceptable and announced that the strikes would continue. The group is demanding that the GDL limit the scope of the collective agreement so that it does not apply to new members. "The aim of the railway board is to destroy the existence of the GDL," said Weselsky. In addition, the offer is also "not acceptable in terms of content".

On the fringes of a rally at Leipzig Central Station, Weselsky again refused further negotiations with the railway, as long as it limited its tariff offers to the train staff. "We are ready to negotiate, but no one should make conditions," he said. The union has thousands of new members in other rail professions such as administration. They have a right to a collective agreement, which the railway denies them in the current offer.

The GDL had started its five-day strike in passenger traffic that night despite the new tariff offer of the railway.

According to the group, a replacement timetable applies, with which around 25 percent of long-distance trains should run.

For regional traffic, the goal is to drive 40 percent of the regular range.

At large train stations such as Munich or Hanover, the situation was initially calm on Thursday morning because obviously many passengers had informed themselves about the strike.

Deutsche Bahn recommends postponing trips.

All long-distance tickets booked for the time of the strike should remain valid.

In the case of special offers, the train connection is canceled.

The strike is the third in the current wage dispute and should last until early Tuesday morning.

The strike wave in freight traffic started on Wednesday.