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The strike, the eighth in a dispute between the
GDL train drivers union and state-owned Deutsche Bahn over work
conditions, starts at 1300 GMT (9.00 a.m. EDT) on Monday for
freight trains and will be extended to passenger trains from
Tuesday. The stoppages continue until 0700 GMT (3.00 a.m. EDT)
on Sunday morning.
The strike could create supply chain difficulties for German
companies, DIHK President Eric Schweitzer said.
"Warehouses will empty out, production will stutter, production
may even come to a halt," Schweitzer said.
Economists at Unicredit forecast the strike could knock 0.1
percentage points off gross domestic product (GDP) in the second
quarter. Analyst Andreas Rees currently expects German economic
growth of 0.5 percent in the quarter.
German chemicals and steel companies are among those most
affected by the strike. Around 200,000 tonnes of steel products
are transported by rail each day, the German steel federation
said.
ThyssenKrupp <TKAG.DE>, which mainly transports its products via
rail and ship, said it was looking at alternatives. However,
given the large volumes it transports between its plants via
rail, the amount it could easily put on other forms of transport
was limited, it said in a statement.
On Monday, union GDL said Deutsche Bahn had used delaying
tactics in the negotiations and that the union would not agree
to mediation.
Union boss Claus Weselky said the union did not want its members
to be forced onto the same labor agreement as negotiated for the
members of rival union EVG, which sets out different conditions
for certain types of driver.
"They're trying to create a two-class workforce," he told a
press conference.
Deutsche Bahn, which on Sunday described the strike as
excessive, was due to hold a news conference on Monday
afternoon.
(Reporting by Rene Wagner and Tom Kaeckenhoff; Writing by
Victoria Bryan; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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