This will be the fourth strike in the current wage dispute.

The German train drivers' union GDL said on Monday that it had called on employees of the state-owned company Deutsche Bahn (DB) to stage another multi-day strike.

The strike will begin at two in the morning on Wednesday and continue until 6 p.m. on Monday next week, GDL said in a statement released in the early hours of Monday morning.

Members of the DB Cargo union, responsible for freight transport, had already been called to strike from 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

On Friday, Deutsche Bahn presented a new wage offer in order to bring GDL back to the negotiating table. The offer includes the possibility of one hour shorter working hours for train drivers and train attendants from January 1, 2026. The offer also included a 4.8 percent pay increase for employees from August and an additional 5 percent from April 2025.

Deutsche Bahn is also offering train drivers and train attendants the option of reducing working hours from 38 to 37 hours per week from January 1, 2026, with the same pay. Those who decide against the reduction will instead receive a 2.7 percent pay increase, the offer states.

But that was not enough for new negotiations. “With the third and supposedly improved offer, Deutsche Bahn AG has once again shown that it continues to pursue its previous course of rejection and confrontation – there are no signs of willingness to reach an agreement,” the GDL statement said.

Deutsche Bahn defended its offer to GDL. “DB is focused on compromises, GDL is excessively escalating the conflict,” said a DB spokesperson.

This will be the fourth strike in the current wage dispute. Before the end of last year, GDL paralyzed large parts of passenger transport in two strikes, followed by a three-day strike with a similar effect in January.

Source: poslovni.hr