Up until the last minute, customers of the German rail company Deutsche Bahn (DB) had hoped that the new strike by train drivers, announced on 18 May by the German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL), would not take place. DB’s head of personnel and the GDL President met on Tuesday 19 May, behind closed doors, to try and resolve this dispute, in the presence of a former judge from the Federal Labour Court. The efforts, however, were in vain. The strike, which had begun on Tuesday at 3 pm for freight train drivers, got well and truly underway on 20 May at 2 am for passenger trains. This is the ninth strike in less than a year and, for the first time, the President of the GDL has not specified when the strike will end. Faced with this seemingly never-ending dispute, there have been calls from the Christian union parties (CDU/CSU) and experts for an obligatory arbitration procedure to be introduced, for conflicts which affect services of general interest.
Debate over the introduction of an arbitration procedure. The German people are in shock. In recent times, Germany has seen relatively few large-scale strike movements, compared to its neighbours. The launch of this ninth strike by train drivers, however, just ten days after a record-breaking strike (see article n°9054) and a few days away from the Pentecost long weekend, has provoked exasperation and incomprehension among a large portion of the population. During a press conference on 18 May,
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