Train strikes, farmer blockades snarl German transport

Deutsche Bahn warned of “massive” disruptions to service until Friday evening after wage talks with unions hit an impasse – Copyright AFP Frederic J. BROWN

Deborah COLE

Nationwide strikes brought German transport to a near standstill Wednesday, with railway workers on a three-day stoppage and farmers on tractors blocking autobahns in a bitter protest over subsidy cuts.

The ill-tempered sector disputes mark the start of what is expected to be a challenging year for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s unwieldy three-way government as it struggles with a weak economy and sinking popularity.

The GDL train drivers union called the strike on cargo as well as passenger routes after talks with public rail operator Deutsche Bahn hit an impasse.

Deutsche Bahn warned of “massive” disruptions to service until Friday evening, urging travellers to “avoid any unnecessary journeys” during the strike.

At Berlin’s central station, student Philipp Kolb, 22, said the strike had complicated his travel plans.

“I was supposed to take the train to Hamburg at 6 am,” he said. “Now I have to push the trip back by three hours but I think other people were hit harder than me.”

Passenger Piotr Bulej said he sympathised with the plight of the striking drivers in the face of high inflation eating into real wages. 

“People work a lot more hours with less money. The prices rise every day, every week,” he said. “One has to protest, one has to say that.”

– ‘Continue the fight’ –

Deutsche Bahn lost in a last-ditch bid to halt the industrial action in the courts after a Frankfurt tribunal gave the union the green light late Tuesday. 

Following work stoppages in November and December, the current strike marks the longest in the protracted dispute over pay and working hours.

Beyond salary increases to offset inflation for the 10,000 employees it represents, the union is seeking a reduction to a 35-hour, four-day work week.

Deutsche Bahn said last month it had made an offer of an 11-percent wage increase going into talks, as well as a “bonus to compensate for inflation” of up to 2,850 euros ($3,120).

The operator said Sunday it had come back with an improved offer last week which it said represented a “major step forward” regarding union demands on working hours. 

But GDL chief Claus Weselsky dismissed the latest overture by the employer in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF Wednesday as a “provocation”.

While stressing he was “ready for compromise”, Weselsky warned that “if there is nothing by Friday, we will take a break and then continue the fight”.

– ‘Rotten compromises’ –

Deutsche Bahn last year also clashed with the EVG rail union, which represents some 180,000 non-driver rail personnel, reaching an agreement in late August.

The railway strike, which hit long-distance, regional and commuter lines, comes amid a week-long protest by farmers over an end to tax breaks as the government seeks to trim spending.

Travellers who hoped to beat the strike by taking their cars ran into further obstacles presented by angry farmers staging motorway blockades across the country with their tractors since Monday.

The sector has been up in arms over government plans to withdraw certain tax breaks for agriculture this year, which were announced after a shock court ruling forced the government to find savings in the 2024 budget.

Pupils in rural states hit hard by the farmers’ blockades including Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania were given permission to stay home if their way to school was impeded.

German Farmers’ Association president Joachim Rukwied also threatened further protests if the sector’s demands for a full government reversal on the cuts were not met, cautioning against accepting “rotten compromises”.

“On Monday we are going to stage a big demonstration in Berlin and we will consider further steps,” he told ZDF, stressing that they were fighting for “a level playing field and fairness in the EU”. 

Scholz, whose government’s approval rating has plummeted in recent months, said Monday Berlin had no plans to back down, calling the cuts “right and balanced” and urging “orderly” protests.