Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - The train drivers' union GDL has promised further industrial action at the state-owned Südwestdeutsche Landesverkehrs-GmbH (SWEG) and the SWEG Bahn Stuttgart GmbH (SBS). In a ballot, there was an approval of 95.3 percent for further strikes, said the GDL on its website on Wednesday. Around 70 percent of union members took part in the vote. The ballot had started on September 23rd.
The wage dispute is about the German Locomotive Drivers' Union (GDL) wanting to negotiate a wage agreement not just for SBS, but for the entire SWEG group with its 1,800 employees. SWEG categorically rejects this. The GDL had already twice called for warning strikes.
"There can be no doubt that GDL members remain ready to take to the streets to achieve their goals," the union said in a statement. The next strikes should not be indefinite, but will be significantly longer than the previous warning strikes. Possible dates for this initially remained open. The union reported that the employer was given a few days to reconsider its stance.
The SBS is the former Abellio Rail Baden-Württemberg. The Abellio daughter got into financial difficulties at the end of 2021. The company then took over the state-owned SWEG for an initial period of two years.
The parent company probably does not want to keep the company beyond that. The supervisory board is currently speaking out against submitting a bid for the upcoming tender for the former Abellio routes, SWEG had recently declared. This would mean a change of ownership by the end of 2023 at the latest. A decision can be expected in mid-October, it said.
