Until the last minute, the Deutsche Bahn's (DB) management had hoped that the small train drivers' union GDL would give up its plans… in vain ! On October 12, at 2 am, the union launched a one-day strike which paralyzed an important part of the local regional traffic and caused serious traffic jams throughout the country. (Ref. 070846)
The GDL union, which, for several months now, has been asking for a 31% wage increase as well as a specific collective agreement for its members only (see our article No. 070802), unexpectedly announced, on October 11, the launching of a strike for the day after, hardly a few hours before a new summit meeting between the conflict’s main role players, initiated by the DB’s supervisory board. After this meeting, Hartmut Mehdorn, chairman of the railway company’s board of directors, announced that
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