Rail travel in Germany was plagued by strikes in 2023 and the industrial action shows no signs of slowing down as the new year begins.
20.12.2023 - 18:06 / euronews.com / Deutsche Bahn / Rebecca Ann Hughes
Rail travel in Germany has been plagued by strikes this year and the industrial action is set to continue in 2024.
Members of a union representing German train drivers have voted overwhelmingly to stage open-ended strikes next year in a bitter dispute with the main national railway operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) over working hours and pay.
Earlier this month, the GDL union launched a 24-hour public transport walkout causing severe disruption to services run by DB.
Although the union has said there will be no strikes before 8 January 2024, the dispute has escalated unusually fast and will affect rail travel early next year.
The GDL union has voted overwhelmingly to authorise 'fully-fledged' strikes at state-owned DB.
The group staged a 24-hour 'warning strike' on 8 December, a common tactic in German wage negotiations, but the disagreement continues to escalate.
GDL's chairman, Claus Weselsky, declared last month that negotiations with DB had failed after only two rounds of talks.
The central issue is the union’s call for shift workers’ hours to be reduced from 38 to 35 hours per week without a pay reduction, a demand at which employers so far have baulked.
GDL is seeking a raise of €555 per month for employees plus a one-time payment of up to €3,000 to counter inflation. DB has said it made an offer that amounts to an 11 per cent raise.
Although GDL has said there will be no strikes before 8 January, they have not supplied information on when and for how long members will strike after that.
“What is coming now will be more powerful, longer and harder for customers” than the walkouts so far, Weselsky said.
During the 'warning strikes' earlier in December, long-distance, regional and S-Bahn services were subject to delays and cancellations.
Other railway companies such as the Transdev Group (including Bayerische Oberlandbahn and NordWestBahn) were also affected.
DB advised passengers to avoid rail travel during the strikes. "Please refrain from unnecessary journeys during the GDL strike and postpone your journey to another time," they said.
In April, railway workers' union EVG also went on strike to push for wage increases causing rail transport to be paralysed for a morning.
The group also walked out in March causing all long-distance DB trains to be halted for a day.
EVG's dispute with DB was settled earlier this year after both sides accepted a proposal by arbitrators.
If your journey is affected, you have various options, according to DB:
Rail travel in Germany was plagued by strikes in 2023 and the industrial action shows no signs of slowing down as the new year begins.
It's the first month of a new year, a time when many of us try beginning anew with an ambitious set of resolutions in tow. But frequent fliers know that more than just personal goals are refreshed on January 1—the fateful day when most airlines reset their elite status counters.
2023 has been full steam ahead for rail transport with a roster of new train routes and destinations announced.
Luxury travel planners are seeing an uptick in bookings, driven by a demand for remote destinations, exclusive group travel, and passion-centered experiences.
Paris to Venice. Barcelona to Amsterdam. Brussels to Bratislava, Slovakia. European cities could see a flurry of new rail connections in the next few years, as governments and private investors respond to climate concerns and strive to keep up with strong demand for cross-border passenger rail traffic.
China’s travel and tourism industry – among the world’s biggest – last year began its recovery from heavy pandemic damage. One beneficiary: Trip.com Group, a global travel service provider that is China’s largest. Revenue in the third quarter of 2023 almost doubled from a year earlier; net profit in the three months to September totaled 4.6 billion yuan (about $637 million), more than 18 times the year-earlier 245 million yuan.
Global aviation had a dream run in 2023. Everything that went wrong during the pandemic seemed to reverse – and then some.
As the sun sets on 2023, Trip.com Group, a global leader in online travel services, reflects on the dynamic landscape of travel over the past year, offering insights into the trends set to shape the journey in 2024. China’s border reopening sparks global travel surge
Travelers now have new options to save them time and headaches when traveling to Europe, thanks to an innovative new Air Canada program.
Large companies listed on the stock market have for some time now been required to report on the sustainability impact of their corporate travel. But in Europe such requirements are going to be extended to companies with as few as 500 staff with the introduction of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in January 2024.
Well, we got close, folks. However, it looks like a trouble-free year with only minor cancellations and delays for Christmas travel in Europe won't be happening after all.
Smartwatches can be a traveler’s best friend. Monitoring their sleep, managing their stress, delivering messages and calls right to their wrist. There isn’t much to not love. And with Apple halting online sales of their Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra Series 2 today, it’s time to put a spotlight on some of the other great smartwatches on the market.