German trains still idle

The head of the German train drivers' union (GDL), Claus Weselsky, has promised no stoppages for seven days following the current strike, the third in two weeks, which began at 2 a.m. Saturday (0000 UTC). Announced Friday, the strike, set to end at 4 a.m. on Monday, has brought to a halt about two-thirds of long-distance trains operated by Deutsche Bahn (DB), Germany's main means of mass transportation and the carrier of millions of people daily.

"I think we'll speak over the next week and during that we'll take a break of at least seven days," Weselsky told public broadcaster ZDF. On the topic of whether it was right for the GDL to launch a strike on a weekend that regularly sees Germans crisscrossing the land to begin or end the autumn school vacations, Weselsky said that on national rails "it's always peak season - seven days a week." He added that the union merely awaited a "negotiable offer."

In addition to shutting down most long-distance trains, the strike has also affected urban and regional services and rail freight traffic.

A nonnegotiable offer

The union has pushed for a pay raise of 5 percent, a workweek decrease of two hours and the right to negotiate for all train personnel - from conductors to security personnel to servers in the long-distance trains' ubiquitous onboard bistros. In a last-ditch attempt to avert the strike, DB unveiled a new pay offer on Friday.

That included the raise, staggered over 19 months in three steps. However, it did not allow the GDL to negotiate for other DB staff, who are organized in the EVG railway and transit workers' union. The GDL called DB's offer "lazy tricks."

The nationwide stoppage coincides with the start of school holidays in seven of Germany's 16 states, and the end of the vacation period in two. The industrial action has also caused major disruption to travel to weekend sporting events in the country, including the cancellation of special trains deployed to take fans to football matches. The train drivers had only returned to work on Thursday morning after a 14-hour strike.

German Transportation Minister Alexander Dobrindt, of the right-wing Christian Democrats, has urged a speedy resolution to the talks: "When concrete offers are put on the table, they should be discussed," he told the Sunday edition of the mass-circulation newspaper Bild.

Weselsky says that it is up to DB "whether we enter into negotiating mode or into the next labor dispute."

mkg/tj (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)