By Gunnar Schupelius
The union is emulating the board, which enriches itself immensely from the company, says Gunnar Schupelius.
The train drivers’ union (GDL) is threatening the next industrial action. A major strike before Christmas is within reach.
The GDL is demanding an additional salary of 555 euros per month and employee, as well as a reduction in weekly working hours to 35 hours and a four-day week.
“Improving the working time system is the only right step for us to address the shortage of skilled workers in the railway system,” said GDL boss Claus Weselsky.
Is that correct? Does the railway really only find new train drivers if it demands less work? And if it did, wouldn’t there be a shortage of more skilled workers because the reduced working hours would have to be replaced by new employees?
Deutsche Bahn claims it would have to hire 10,000 new employees if it gave in to GDL’s demands. Personnel costs would increase by 50 percent. This is “unfeasible,” said Human Resources Director Martin Seiler.
He is certainly right, the GDL’s demands are completely excessive. But the board of Deutsche Bahn set a bad example. In 2022, the CEO received an annual salary including bonuses of 2.24 million euros, which was twice as much as the year before, “Business Insider” reported. The board members Huber and Seiler were also able to double their annual salaries in 2022, to 1.41 and 1.39 million euros.
If it’s raining money from the sky up there, why not the train driver too? This is what our colleagues ask themselves and this question is understandable. But both ruin the company: the board when it fills its pockets and the union when it emulates this.
The board should have been slowed down by the federal government because DB belongs to the state. The union must moderate itself in the interests of the company that employs its members.
But the opposite is imminent: Even before the collective bargaining round begins on November 9th, Weselsky is talking about industrial action. He wants to bring about the strike vote on an indefinite strike immediately in order to exert maximum pressure.
Nothing is easier than that: you can easily blackmail a state-owned company, especially if it is a monopolist on most routes. There is no arbitration agreement between Deutsche Bahn and GDL, as is the case with the other railway union EVG. She can take it to the extreme.
The demands of the GDL are excessive and what the board allows itself is excessive. It can not go on like this. This is how our country is ruined.
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