Threatened German Rail Strike - Legal Ramifications
Aug 6th, 2007 | 09:51 PM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,019
Likes: 0
Threatened German Rail Strike - Legal Ramifications
As I have posted several times, the management of der Deutschen Bahn and the management of the GDL - the locomotive drivers' union seem hell bent to precipitate a strike.
As the Welt am Sonntag stated in a recent article, two pigheads are about to meet head-on because neither will budge a single millimeter.
Legal aspects of this case touch me in an ignorant spot because I don't understand the German court system any better than I understand the American system.
It seems to me that the subsidiary components of Die Bahn have taken issues to local courts seeking injunctions to forbid the strike.
Courts in Chemnitz and Mainz have issued orders to that effect. Other jurisdictions have been less definite in just what the ruling covered and prevented or permitted.
It seems to me that different piecemeal court decisions now exist, none of which are comprehensive or nationally pervasive.
If one of you Fodorites who have a better than layman's knowledge of situation, I would appreciate your insights and analysis.
I think I would definitely learn something from it and the knowledge would enhance my ability to read the descriptions in the German press which I have been trying to follow in depth. I have learned quite a bit of German so far from my efforts and I think understanding the legal ramifications of the case would help. This aspect of the strike threat seems to be the only mitigating circumstance.
In brief, no comprehensive court injunction means no way to avoid a head-on collision. What also puzzles me is that the central German government seems to have no means at its disposal to force the issue one way or the other. It seems so far to be powerless to intervene in a situation where a small, but dedicated and unified union, can virtually hold German industry hostage.
From what I have read, the locomotive drivers
strike will have serious and long term deleterious effects on the whole economy because the alternatives are woefully inadequate to meet the needs in the short-run.
I know Brookwood was being facetious by suggesting that Mehdorn and Schell might be fired into each other at the Cern atomic particle collider. Too bad the large Hadron Collider is not yet operational because if the description of Steam Roller and Rumpelstiltskin, Mehdorn and Schell respectively, is even close to accuracy, it will take super force to smash the existing deadlock.
I agree with Brookwood, no charm or beauty quarks would result from such a collision; just strange ones.
I guess we wait and see what happens next.
As the Welt am Sonntag stated in a recent article, two pigheads are about to meet head-on because neither will budge a single millimeter.
Legal aspects of this case touch me in an ignorant spot because I don't understand the German court system any better than I understand the American system.
It seems to me that the subsidiary components of Die Bahn have taken issues to local courts seeking injunctions to forbid the strike.
Courts in Chemnitz and Mainz have issued orders to that effect. Other jurisdictions have been less definite in just what the ruling covered and prevented or permitted.
It seems to me that different piecemeal court decisions now exist, none of which are comprehensive or nationally pervasive.
If one of you Fodorites who have a better than layman's knowledge of situation, I would appreciate your insights and analysis.
I think I would definitely learn something from it and the knowledge would enhance my ability to read the descriptions in the German press which I have been trying to follow in depth. I have learned quite a bit of German so far from my efforts and I think understanding the legal ramifications of the case would help. This aspect of the strike threat seems to be the only mitigating circumstance.
In brief, no comprehensive court injunction means no way to avoid a head-on collision. What also puzzles me is that the central German government seems to have no means at its disposal to force the issue one way or the other. It seems so far to be powerless to intervene in a situation where a small, but dedicated and unified union, can virtually hold German industry hostage.
From what I have read, the locomotive drivers
strike will have serious and long term deleterious effects on the whole economy because the alternatives are woefully inadequate to meet the needs in the short-run.
I know Brookwood was being facetious by suggesting that Mehdorn and Schell might be fired into each other at the Cern atomic particle collider. Too bad the large Hadron Collider is not yet operational because if the description of Steam Roller and Rumpelstiltskin, Mehdorn and Schell respectively, is even close to accuracy, it will take super force to smash the existing deadlock.
I agree with Brookwood, no charm or beauty quarks would result from such a collision; just strange ones.
I guess we wait and see what happens next.
Aug 6th, 2007 | 11:27 PM
#2
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 17,549
Likes: 0
"What also puzzles me is that the central German government seems to have no means at its disposal to force the issue one way or the other..."
Is it at all possible that the central government doesn't <b>want</b> to "force the issue?"
Is it at all possible that the central government doesn't <b>want</b> to "force the issue?"
Aug 6th, 2007 | 11:37 PM
#3
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,006
Likes: 0
bob, it would take too much time right now to explain the German law system in detail. It's slightly confusing even for lawyers like me (and not totally clear) about the strikes.
As I said in an earlier post the problem is in reality that the GDL union is the only union of the three that opposes Mehdorn's (and the government's) plans to privatize the Bahn. The GDL is IMO right on spot. They accused Mehdorn that he doesn't invest nearly enough money in the rail network, closes minor rail routes in the countryside and concentrates on the connections between the big cities plus the local trains in/around the big cities. He does that to make the Bahn 'fit' for the IPO.
This is where Mehdorn and the government agree. And of course the government will NOT advise Mehdorn to give in - it would ruin the profit of the Bahn.
On the other hand, strike is a confessional right of unions/workers. The government doesn't have means to put a stop to it as long as the country is not totally paralyzed. And it won't be. I heard that about 60% of the long-distance trains will run. Local trains will run almost 100%. The industry has options to make other dispositions than to transport goods by the Bahn.
Ingo
As I said in an earlier post the problem is in reality that the GDL union is the only union of the three that opposes Mehdorn's (and the government's) plans to privatize the Bahn. The GDL is IMO right on spot. They accused Mehdorn that he doesn't invest nearly enough money in the rail network, closes minor rail routes in the countryside and concentrates on the connections between the big cities plus the local trains in/around the big cities. He does that to make the Bahn 'fit' for the IPO.
This is where Mehdorn and the government agree. And of course the government will NOT advise Mehdorn to give in - it would ruin the profit of the Bahn.
On the other hand, strike is a confessional right of unions/workers. The government doesn't have means to put a stop to it as long as the country is not totally paralyzed. And it won't be. I heard that about 60% of the long-distance trains will run. Local trains will run almost 100%. The industry has options to make other dispositions than to transport goods by the Bahn.
Ingo
Aug 7th, 2007 | 04:16 AM
#4
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,019
Likes: 0
I knew that an IPO was in the works, so it is only logical that profit dominated thinking comes to the forefront.
That means cut out the luxuries that cost money, eliminate the non profitable lines even it means curtailing service to the small towns, and in general acting like a low budget airline where nothing is free and passengers tag their own baggage.
We have seen the same here in the US with public transportation. I live in a town of about 100,000 people when the university is in session. Slowly but surely our connecting flights to Charlotte have been cutback in frequency and reduced severely in reliability.
From here to Atlanta's Hartsfield airport is about 85 miles. The death of the commuter flights to Charlotte as meant the growth of a shuttle bus system for a price from here to Hartsfield.
I do have one question about these various institutes for research and whatnot. Are they mostly government think tanks or independent organizations free to say what they think is correct?
I notice that some of them have pronounced all kinds of gloom and doom consequences if the freight trains don't run.
After seeing the salaries of the locomotive drivers, I must admit I was a little shocked at how low they were.
I got a real eye opener the trip I made from Munich to Zuerich where I was able to stand behind the drivers and watch how they had to react to constant stimuli for correct decisions. I am sure that the skills are not all that difficult to learn, but the learning curve has got to be steep and a rookie has much to learn before being put at the controls of a kilometer long freight train.
I am not sure why Schell has opted for a relatively high 31% increase at this time. Perhaps he figures that as a splinter union that threatens the ease of dealing with one big union like Transnet or Verdi, he has one shot at it. Miss this opportumity when the membership is seemingly solidly behind him, and there might not be a second chance anytime soon.
I am sure that some of this "we will take disciplinary action" and we will "lay the railroad operations low" is partly pregame blustering. Sort of a union/employer version of trash talking.
I am sure the newspapers grab that stuff up because it has a sensationalistic sound to it and that sells newspapers.
We don't have an analog train system over here. If some rail line's employees went on strike, most people would not notice. A few would, particularly companies that rely on the trains that haul coal to electricity generating plants. Trucks would have a hard time handling it. But new cars?
Given the number of truck haulers on the highway toting new cars, I think the supply would continue.
Grain shipments might be affected as well. But US train strikes are relatively rare.
If an airline strikes, so be it. Eastern airlines went under when the strike of the pilots became the last straw. Of course the airline was sick anyhow. The same was true of TWA and Braniff. These carriers are gone and mostly forgotten.
Delta and US Airways just emerged from bankruptcy and the word was out that a pilots' strike would put them under. Delta pilots in fact accepted pay cuts to keep their jobs.
Well I am glad to know that my ignorance of how the court scenario in Germany will progress is not an isolated case.
After my friend Chris explained it, I decided that perhaps I didn't want to know. It reminded me of the time I tried to figure out the engineering floating point registers in the Intel Pentium chip. Just figuring out the mantissa on the exponents was enough to send me scrambling back to a basic electronics book. I finally decided it wasn't worth it as long as it worked!!
Oh well. Driving to Switzerland should be fun. Next chore, figure the route to avoid the Austrian bandits and their toll stickers.
That means cut out the luxuries that cost money, eliminate the non profitable lines even it means curtailing service to the small towns, and in general acting like a low budget airline where nothing is free and passengers tag their own baggage.
We have seen the same here in the US with public transportation. I live in a town of about 100,000 people when the university is in session. Slowly but surely our connecting flights to Charlotte have been cutback in frequency and reduced severely in reliability.
From here to Atlanta's Hartsfield airport is about 85 miles. The death of the commuter flights to Charlotte as meant the growth of a shuttle bus system for a price from here to Hartsfield.
I do have one question about these various institutes for research and whatnot. Are they mostly government think tanks or independent organizations free to say what they think is correct?
I notice that some of them have pronounced all kinds of gloom and doom consequences if the freight trains don't run.
After seeing the salaries of the locomotive drivers, I must admit I was a little shocked at how low they were.
I got a real eye opener the trip I made from Munich to Zuerich where I was able to stand behind the drivers and watch how they had to react to constant stimuli for correct decisions. I am sure that the skills are not all that difficult to learn, but the learning curve has got to be steep and a rookie has much to learn before being put at the controls of a kilometer long freight train.
I am not sure why Schell has opted for a relatively high 31% increase at this time. Perhaps he figures that as a splinter union that threatens the ease of dealing with one big union like Transnet or Verdi, he has one shot at it. Miss this opportumity when the membership is seemingly solidly behind him, and there might not be a second chance anytime soon.
I am sure that some of this "we will take disciplinary action" and we will "lay the railroad operations low" is partly pregame blustering. Sort of a union/employer version of trash talking.
I am sure the newspapers grab that stuff up because it has a sensationalistic sound to it and that sells newspapers.
We don't have an analog train system over here. If some rail line's employees went on strike, most people would not notice. A few would, particularly companies that rely on the trains that haul coal to electricity generating plants. Trucks would have a hard time handling it. But new cars?
Given the number of truck haulers on the highway toting new cars, I think the supply would continue.
Grain shipments might be affected as well. But US train strikes are relatively rare.
If an airline strikes, so be it. Eastern airlines went under when the strike of the pilots became the last straw. Of course the airline was sick anyhow. The same was true of TWA and Braniff. These carriers are gone and mostly forgotten.
Delta and US Airways just emerged from bankruptcy and the word was out that a pilots' strike would put them under. Delta pilots in fact accepted pay cuts to keep their jobs.
Well I am glad to know that my ignorance of how the court scenario in Germany will progress is not an isolated case.
After my friend Chris explained it, I decided that perhaps I didn't want to know. It reminded me of the time I tried to figure out the engineering floating point registers in the Intel Pentium chip. Just figuring out the mantissa on the exponents was enough to send me scrambling back to a basic electronics book. I finally decided it wasn't worth it as long as it worked!!
Oh well. Driving to Switzerland should be fun. Next chore, figure the route to avoid the Austrian bandits and their toll stickers.
Aug 7th, 2007 | 04:32 AM
#5
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 9,016
Likes: 0
>government think tanks
Yes, it's all kind of special interest groups, not always governmet (it's a grand coalition), but industry too. Everything you'll hear from Bremen university will be left wing SPD stuff and so on... You'll get (party) politics instead of information, but I think you're used to that anyway.
Yes, it's all kind of special interest groups, not always governmet (it's a grand coalition), but industry too. Everything you'll hear from Bremen university will be left wing SPD stuff and so on... You'll get (party) politics instead of information, but I think you're used to that anyway.
Aug 7th, 2007 | 04:59 AM
#6
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,833
Likes: 0
This is a good thread helping me understand that the GDL strike is more than just about salary tarif hike but also a protest against the privatisation mode which is being reconsidered in Berlin. It explains why many German fodorites stand behind the GDL 31% salary increase demand (which I thought is exorbitantly high).
I was the one who brought up the Bremen uni professor quote without realizing their SPD bias. Would you still agree though that the GDL has a very good chance of maintaining their right to strike (even against the other two larger unions )in the Federal supreme court in Karlsruhe if it ever gets there?
I was the one who brought up the Bremen uni professor quote without realizing their SPD bias. Would you still agree though that the GDL has a very good chance of maintaining their right to strike (even against the other two larger unions )in the Federal supreme court in Karlsruhe if it ever gets there?
Aug 7th, 2007 | 05:08 AM
#7
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 9,016
Likes: 0
It looks like they're already moving. Maybe there won't be extended strikes after all.
http://www.n-tv.de/836097.html
http://www.n-tv.de/836097.html
Trending Topics
Aug 7th, 2007 | 05:15 AM
#8
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 393
Likes: 0
I'm not sure if this was posted yesterday, but according to the latest info posted yesterday on http://www.db.de, no strikes in passenger traffic for the time being. This is what the article had to say:
Monday, 6 August 2007, 18:15 h
For the time being no strikes in passenger traffic
According to the GDL, no strikes are to be expected in passenger traffic for the time being. However, the GDL added that it cannot rule out disruptions in passenger traffic resulting from the announced strike in freight traffic onThursday, 9 August 2007.
Passengers are recommended to gain information on the latest situation of train services shortly before starting their journey:
Latest information on train service across at www.bahn.de/aktuell (Click on the map of for regional information available in German.) Information on the current train service situation is available in English by clicking on the Ankunft - Abfahrt link (Arrival / Departure). Round-the-clock toll-free service hotline: 08000 996633 (from abroad +49 1805 334444, fees depend on country of origin and provider). WAP-enabled mobile phone users can access the latest travel information at mobile.bahn.de/ris from Wednesday, 8 August 2007. Passengers unable to start their journey on the day of a strike owing to strike-related train cancellations or delays can exchange their ticket free of charge or have their fare reimbursed until the end of August.
Season tickets are subject to the tariff conditions for exchange and refund.
In the event of train cancellation or missed train connections, passengers may use the next train connection, even if this connection is of a higher value. Such cases are also not subject to specific-train bookings (saver fares, Dauer-Spezial and group tickets).
Monday, 6 August 2007, 18:15 h
For the time being no strikes in passenger traffic
According to the GDL, no strikes are to be expected in passenger traffic for the time being. However, the GDL added that it cannot rule out disruptions in passenger traffic resulting from the announced strike in freight traffic onThursday, 9 August 2007.
Passengers are recommended to gain information on the latest situation of train services shortly before starting their journey:
Latest information on train service across at www.bahn.de/aktuell (Click on the map of for regional information available in German.) Information on the current train service situation is available in English by clicking on the Ankunft - Abfahrt link (Arrival / Departure). Round-the-clock toll-free service hotline: 08000 996633 (from abroad +49 1805 334444, fees depend on country of origin and provider). WAP-enabled mobile phone users can access the latest travel information at mobile.bahn.de/ris from Wednesday, 8 August 2007. Passengers unable to start their journey on the day of a strike owing to strike-related train cancellations or delays can exchange their ticket free of charge or have their fare reimbursed until the end of August.
Season tickets are subject to the tariff conditions for exchange and refund.
In the event of train cancellation or missed train connections, passengers may use the next train connection, even if this connection is of a higher value. Such cases are also not subject to specific-train bookings (saver fares, Dauer-Spezial and group tickets).
Aug 7th, 2007 | 05:47 AM
#11
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,006
Likes: 0
It's like logos said. The Tarifvertrag (that is the contract between the union and the company - here the Bahn) was valid till end July if I recall correctly. So the union has the right to go on strike in August. It's interesting that the Bahn subsidary companies for the regional trains (DB Regio) still have a valid Tarifvertrag going with the union GDL. So this explains why the court in Chemnitz ruled "no strike on regional trains".
The GDL already said they do not 100% insist on 31% salary increase. But they do want to have their separate Tarifvertrag and they want better conditions in terms of working hours etc.
I.
The GDL already said they do not 100% insist on 31% salary increase. But they do want to have their separate Tarifvertrag and they want better conditions in terms of working hours etc.
I.
Aug 7th, 2007 | 05:49 AM
#13
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
the longer this slow water torture goes on the more both sides will lose public support and start to get public approbation.
folks with plans are perpetually wondering whether than train they depend on will run and first they blame the bahn perhaps for their incalcitrance but later will turn on unions for unyielding.
The more each side protracts this contretemps the more each has to lose.
therefor i hope common sense reigns and they agree to settle now and they surely will later.
folks with plans are perpetually wondering whether than train they depend on will run and first they blame the bahn perhaps for their incalcitrance but later will turn on unions for unyielding.
The more each side protracts this contretemps the more each has to lose.
therefor i hope common sense reigns and they agree to settle now and they surely will later.
Aug 7th, 2007 | 05:56 AM
#14
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 36,842
Likes: 0
A little off the subject, and I'm not very "strike" or "union" oriented, but I'm always reminded of a teachers' strike I was involved in years ago in Ohio, when the Board of Education hired a new superintendent at a salary that was the highest in the state and actually cut all teachers' salaries to do so. When the teachers walked out the BofE filed a little used law in Ohio that allowed them to actually fire all the teachers. In other words, all the teachers in the system had their contracts terminated. They then ORDERED all teachers back to work. Huh? How can you give an order to people who don't even have a contract with you any more? The short side of the story is that they ended up having to issue totally new contracts to all teachers at significantly higher salaries than they had previously. And this was all done under advisement of "champion" lawyers?
The whole strike issue is so silly.
The whole strike issue is so silly.
Aug 7th, 2007 | 06:22 AM
#15
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 9,016
Likes: 0
It's all rather simple. 
Strikes are illegal unless the contract between the two parties has expired. Employees are protected by law when they use their right to strike during that time, they can't be fired or ordered to do anything. They'll tend to give up, once they run out of money and of course don't want to hurt the company they work for, more than needed to produce results. DB is 100% government owned. All they could do is to order Mr. Mehdorn to give in to the unions demands. They won't do that. The german system results in rather short strikes when legal and no strikes, when illegal.
Strikes are illegal unless the contract between the two parties has expired. Employees are protected by law when they use their right to strike during that time, they can't be fired or ordered to do anything. They'll tend to give up, once they run out of money and of course don't want to hurt the company they work for, more than needed to produce results. DB is 100% government owned. All they could do is to order Mr. Mehdorn to give in to the unions demands. They won't do that. The german system results in rather short strikes when legal and no strikes, when illegal.
Aug 7th, 2007 | 07:15 AM
#16
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 12,188
Likes: 0
The locomotive driver salaries do sound low, but how do the salaries compare to jobs like say:
teacher
X-ray technician
postal carrier
None of these are exactly comparable, but perhaps German salaries just sound rather low in general.
teacher
X-ray technician
postal carrier
None of these are exactly comparable, but perhaps German salaries just sound rather low in general.
Aug 7th, 2007 | 07:28 AM
#17
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,206
Likes: 0
>teacher
X-ray technician
.. are usually rather well-paid jobs in comparison to the locomotive drivers
>postal carrier
usually very low-paid.
The average yearly contract salary in Germany is slightly above 30 kEuro/year or 2500 E/month. Therefore the locomotive drivers are sub-average.
X-ray technician
.. are usually rather well-paid jobs in comparison to the locomotive drivers
>postal carrier
usually very low-paid.
The average yearly contract salary in Germany is slightly above 30 kEuro/year or 2500 E/month. Therefore the locomotive drivers are sub-average.
Aug 7th, 2007 | 11:31 AM
#18
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,019
Likes: 0
Well, Schell is talking moderation, but not arbitration. As read his comments, he is willing to accept a suitable Moderator, "Aber eine Schlichtung im klassischen Sinne brauchen wir nicht", said Schell.
I interpret this to mean that he will go along with an acceptable moderator but an arbitrator in the classic sense he doesn't need. There is a difference between moderation and arbitration, particularly if the arbitration is binding without recourse.
No time and place have been selected yet nor has a moderator been designated publically. The GDL intends to go ahead with the 4-hour freight grain strike on Thursday. Passenger trains will operate as usual for the time being.
I think the following quote from Schell is very important, if I interpret it to mean that Schell admits that the demand for a 31% increase was NOT realistic. By so doing, he shows a willingness to compromise.
Here is the quote, so you guys who read German better than I can comment.
GDL-Chef Schell macht diesen aber zur Hauptbedingung, während er Kompromissbereitschaft bei der Lohnhöhe zeigte. "Jedes Mitglied weiß, dass 31 Prozent niemals realisiert werden", sagte Schell.
If Schell is publicly saying that the 31% was known to be unrealistic, I think he is indicating a willingess to back down a bit. Now, how far will he backpedal off his initial position of 31%??
Inherent in that statement, however, is that he is not yet ready to yield on negotiating as a separate union. So far Mehdorn has refused to negotiate on the basis that the GDL is different and separate.
I interpret the statement quoted below to indicate that the leadership of the national rail system is willing to budge a little bit, also by viewing Schell's comments as encouraging. Personnel chief Suckale reacted favorably by saying that such a mediation can begin very quickly.
Here is that quote in German:
Die Bahn wertete die Äußerungen Schells als positives Signal. "Eine solche Mediation kann sehr schnell beginnen", sagte Bahn-Personalvorstand Margret Suckale.
So no strikes actuated yet, but none cancelled either.
I think the strike Thursday has got to go forward, or the GDL will show too much weakness. I don't expect Mehdorn of Walzdampfer fame to fold his tent, give up a big pay increase, and ride off into the sunset.
I guess we find out in about 30 hours whether or not the GDL makes good on its promise to strike the freight lines.
As I see it, both sides have given a little, but neither wants to go into mediation riding a weaker horse than necessary. It sounds like a rapprochment is at hand and an agreement might yet come about without a prolonged strike.
I think the money issue can be settled easier than what probably will be the major sticking point: Recognizing the GDL as a separate union.
Could the ploy be to buy them off? Give them a big pay raise now in return for the GDL disbanding as a formal, separate union? If that happens, the rank and file Transunion folks will be jealous and irritated that they settled for far less. Not sure they want the locomotive drivers coming in as first among equals!!
At any rate, the two bullheads, Mehdorn and Schell, have given a little, so they are now lesser bullheads I presume.
I interpret this to mean that he will go along with an acceptable moderator but an arbitrator in the classic sense he doesn't need. There is a difference between moderation and arbitration, particularly if the arbitration is binding without recourse.
No time and place have been selected yet nor has a moderator been designated publically. The GDL intends to go ahead with the 4-hour freight grain strike on Thursday. Passenger trains will operate as usual for the time being.
I think the following quote from Schell is very important, if I interpret it to mean that Schell admits that the demand for a 31% increase was NOT realistic. By so doing, he shows a willingness to compromise.
Here is the quote, so you guys who read German better than I can comment.
GDL-Chef Schell macht diesen aber zur Hauptbedingung, während er Kompromissbereitschaft bei der Lohnhöhe zeigte. "Jedes Mitglied weiß, dass 31 Prozent niemals realisiert werden", sagte Schell.
If Schell is publicly saying that the 31% was known to be unrealistic, I think he is indicating a willingess to back down a bit. Now, how far will he backpedal off his initial position of 31%??
Inherent in that statement, however, is that he is not yet ready to yield on negotiating as a separate union. So far Mehdorn has refused to negotiate on the basis that the GDL is different and separate.
I interpret the statement quoted below to indicate that the leadership of the national rail system is willing to budge a little bit, also by viewing Schell's comments as encouraging. Personnel chief Suckale reacted favorably by saying that such a mediation can begin very quickly.
Here is that quote in German:
Die Bahn wertete die Äußerungen Schells als positives Signal. "Eine solche Mediation kann sehr schnell beginnen", sagte Bahn-Personalvorstand Margret Suckale.
So no strikes actuated yet, but none cancelled either.
I think the strike Thursday has got to go forward, or the GDL will show too much weakness. I don't expect Mehdorn of Walzdampfer fame to fold his tent, give up a big pay increase, and ride off into the sunset.
I guess we find out in about 30 hours whether or not the GDL makes good on its promise to strike the freight lines.
As I see it, both sides have given a little, but neither wants to go into mediation riding a weaker horse than necessary. It sounds like a rapprochment is at hand and an agreement might yet come about without a prolonged strike.
I think the money issue can be settled easier than what probably will be the major sticking point: Recognizing the GDL as a separate union.
Could the ploy be to buy them off? Give them a big pay raise now in return for the GDL disbanding as a formal, separate union? If that happens, the rank and file Transunion folks will be jealous and irritated that they settled for far less. Not sure they want the locomotive drivers coming in as first among equals!!
At any rate, the two bullheads, Mehdorn and Schell, have given a little, so they are now lesser bullheads I presume.
Aug 7th, 2007 | 11:37 AM
#19
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,206
Likes: 0
>If that happens, the rank and file Transunion folks will be jealous and irritated that they settled for far less.
The problem is that then, the tariff contract of Deutsche Bahn with Transunion isn't binding any more. It is illegal for them to strike again NOW because they have a binding tariff contract; if a part of the union gets a better deal it is legal for the rest to restart a strike.
It might be cheaper for Mehdorn to accept GdL as a separate union than have the entire Transunion demand a pay rise again.
The problem is that then, the tariff contract of Deutsche Bahn with Transunion isn't binding any more. It is illegal for them to strike again NOW because they have a binding tariff contract; if a part of the union gets a better deal it is legal for the rest to restart a strike.
It might be cheaper for Mehdorn to accept GdL as a separate union than have the entire Transunion demand a pay rise again.
