The German Train Drivers' Union (GDL) has announced that it plans to stage a six-day strike on German railways, lasting from the morning of January 24 until the early hours of January 29. Though GDL members have been on several strikes in recent months, the six-day strike is set to be in place for longer than past actions.

Train drivers remain unhappy with pay offers

According to DW, the key reason for the strike is that workers represented by the GDL are still unhappy with their working conditions. Specifically, the union has said that it rejects Deutsche Bahn’s “allegedly improved” third pay offer. 

The German rail giant Deutsche Bahn had tried to get the union back onside following a pay dispute by offering a new pay packet on Friday, but the GDL rejected the offer. "With its third and supposedly improved offer, Deutsche Bahn has again shown that it is continuing its previous course of non-compliance and confrontation — there's no trace of a willingness to reconcile," the GDL said in a press release. 

Fourth rail strike in current dispute set to go ahead on Wednesday

The strike, which is set to begin on Wednesday, will be the fourth strike by the union on the same issue. The GDL staged two strikes late in 2023, and a third earlier in January which lasted for three days, all of which brought long-distance trains and many local services in Germany to a standstill.

The GDL’s members are mostly train drivers, but there are other rail network members that make up the union. Martin Seiler, Deutsche Bahn's head of personnel, criticised the GDL, saying that the workers are using strikes as a means of self-promotion, rather than a last resort. 

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