German train drivers call week-long strike

[BERLIN] Train drivers for German rail operator Deutsche Bahn announced a week-long strike to start Monday, their eighth work stoppage in 10 months of bitterly contentious wage negotiations.

The drivers' union GDL on Sunday called on workers to down tools from 3:00 pm Monday (1300 GMT) for freight and 2:00 am Tuesday for passenger trains, with the strike to end for both services 9:00 am on May 10.

After fresh talks failed to find an agreement GDL had warned on Wednesday of a "long strike". Its 43-hour walkout late last month led to the cancellation of two thirds of long-distance trains.

GDL has been locked in a bitter dispute with management primarily focused on the employees it wants to represent, but also on wages and working hours.

In September and October GDL called six other strikes, which Deutsche Bahn said cost the company 150 million euros (S$223.4 million).

Deutsche Bahn employs a workforce of 300,000, including 196,000 in Germany and transports around 5.5 million passengers in Germany every day.

AFP