What are the train drivers demanding?
The chairman of Deutsche Bahn, Hartmut Mehdorn, has endlessly denounced the “unreasonable” wage demand of the train drivers. In doing so he has the broad support of the media. In fact, train drivers are seeking only to reclaim part of what they lost in recent years. Since the reform of Deutsche Bahn in 1994, the workforce has been halved to 185,000. The workload has risen correspondingly, while wages have stagnated and, over the past two years, actually fallen. The result is an oppressive labour regime involving constant shift work, in return for an income that is inadequate for a single person, let alone a family. The gross salary of a train driver amounts to a maximum of 2,142 euros per month. Following deductions, drivers are left with an income of between 1,500 and 2,000 euros. In neighbouring Switzerland, train drivers earn approximately twice as much. The GDL demand for a starting salary of 2,500 euros gross, rising over an extended period to 3,000 euros, together with a shorteni
