- Strike began today (Saturday, 11 May 2024) at 8 a.m. and ends today at 7 p.m.
- Strike announcement came at 6.54 a.m. - emergency bus services only possible from the morning
- City-Bahn Managing Director: "GDL is behaving incredibly irresponsibly!"
Chemnitz - The City-Bahn Chemnitz will be on strike today (Saturday, 11 May 2024) from 8 a.m. by the German Train Drivers' Union (GDL). The call to strike was received by the management just 66 minutes before the start of the strike. The sticking point in the wage dispute is still the union's adherence to the 35-hour week with full pay compensation.
City-Bahn Managing Director Friedbert Straube: "Commuters who rely on the city railway can't get to work today. How irresponsible do you have to be to stop a shop assistant from going to work and nurses from going to work?"
With the strike, the GDL is paralysing critical infrastructure with just one hour's notice.
Friedbert Straube: "We had no opportunity to organise emergency bus services and warn passengers beforehand. They are now standing on the platforms with their legs in their stomachs. With the strike, the GDL is encouraging City-Bahn employees to sabotage their own company and thus their job security. Customers will switch to other modes of transport if the City-Bahn loses its reliability."
Under these circumstances, the management cannot guarantee whether the City-Bahn will be able to transport schoolchildren and commuters at the start of the week on Monday. The responsibility lies with the GDL. Contact: GDL central strike management Tel.: 069-4057092125.
Background: Regardless of whether other railway companies give in, City-Bahn Chemnitz is sticking to its no to the 35-hour week. This is because, unlike other railway companies that have reached agreements with the GDL, City-Bahn is a municipal company that is financed almost entirely with taxpayers' money. This reduction in working hours would cost an additional 2 million euros "GDL is tricking and deceiving its own members by claiming that there will be extra money on top. But that is completely absurd, instead we will have to scrutinise everything internally - including the improvements already implemented for city rail workers in recent months."says Friedbert Straube.
As collective bargaining negotiations are dragging on, the management decided to increase wages by ten to 14 per cent from March, as in the public sector - without a phased approach.
All the latest information on possible connections will be available on the homepage in the course of the day: www.city-bahn.de/ to be found.
