Ballot begins of German train drivers on national pay strike
DPA: Mon, 23 Jul 2007
Berlin - The GDL union representing Germany's train drivers and associated staff began balloting its members Monday on a strike to press a 31-per-cent wage demand that threatens to shut down the country's rail network at the peak of the summer holiday season.
To call a strike, the GDL must gain the backing of at least 75 per cent of the 12,000 members eligible to vote in the ballot, the outcome of which is expected on August 6.
A strike, the first unlimited shut-down in the key rail sector for 15 years, would begin soon afterwards.
The ballot follows the collapse of talks on Thursday, with neither side prepared to move significantly from its position.
State-owned Deutsche Bahn (DB) has struck a 4.5-per-cent deal with the two other rail unions representing some 134,000 rail workers and refused to budge from this in the pay talks with the GDL.
The union maintains that train drivers, some of them piloting passenger trains at speeds in excess of 200 kilometres an hour, earn as little as 1,500 euros (2,070 dollars) a month in take-home pay.
DB claims that most drivers earn supplements that lift net pay to 2,100 euros.
In 2005, DB carried a total of 119 million people on its long-distance routes.
The German government plans to part-privatize DB next year, retaining the rail network in state hands. The unions oppose the move.