End of the one-man show? Weselsky resigns from the GDL – Economy

Dresden (dpa) – With tears in his eyes and to sustained applause, the long-standing chairman of the German Train Drivers' Union (GDL), Claus Weselsky, said goodbye to his members and his organization. 16 years as federal chairman, 234 industrial disputes and 12,012 hours of strikes – according to the GDL's count – lie behind Weselsky. This often gets on passengers' nerves. Now, at the age of 65, he is retiring.

Whether future members can hope for less escalation in the rail wage negotiations also depends on the GDL's federal board, which was newly elected at the general meeting in Dresden. It is led by Mario Reiß, for whom almost 95 percent of the delegates voted. He is complemented by the two deputies Lars Jedinat and Christian Deckert.

“We want to move forward as a team in the future”

After the general meeting, Reiß rejected the idea of ​​a one-man show, which the GDL often resembled under Weselsky. “This is a new image of this GDL: We want to act as a team in the future,” he stressed. This had already been the case under Weselsky. However, the team structure should be more visible to the public in the future.

In addition, the GDL will become more political and will become more involved in rail policy issues than before. “The GDL will continue to speak out loudly in this rail development business,” said Reiß. He also wants to adopt a somewhat calmer tone in the future, stressing that he is alluding to Weselsky's legendary tirades.

But the GDL was not more conciliatory at its meeting. Firstly, because Weselsky's departure is not a complete one. He will remain associated with the union as honorary chairman – and has already announced that he will also comment on future wage negotiations with Deutsche Bahn in the usual manner. In addition, Weselsky promised his successor that he would “be available to us in every situation, of course in an advisory capacity,” said Mario Reiß.

GDL continues on a collision course

In his speeches to the delegates, the new boss made it clear that the GDL remains on a confrontational course on its important issues: “In a company where an employer attacks us aggressively and arbitrarily applies the Collective Bargaining Act, a real social partnership cannot flourish,” said Reiß, addressing the Deutsche Bahn's human resources director, Martin Seiler, who was also present.

The Collective Bargaining Act (TEG) stipulates that in a company with two competing unions, only the collective agreements of the employee representation with the largest number of members are applied. In the case of the railway, in most companies this is the Railway and Transport Union (EVG).

Weselsky believes that the law is the main reason why the relationship between his GDL, the EVG and Deutsche Bahn is so badly damaged. “This law divides the workforce and causes discord in the companies,” said Volker Geyer, deputy federal chairman of the German Civil Service Federation (dbb), at the GDL general assembly. “This law is not a collective bargaining unity law, but a collective bargaining division law.”

Weselsky as “most unpopular Saxon”

Weselsky has dedicated a large part of his 16-year term in office to the fight against the TEG. The issue subtly influenced many of his wage negotiations with Deutsche Bahn. The Dresden native never minced his words and knew how to personally attack Deutsche Bahn management or undesirable politicians.

While he waged war within the union without being disputed, his industrial disputes and the lengthy wage negotiations at the railways led to anger and frustration among many passengers. Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer said at the general meeting that he often got laughs by saying that Weselsky had now taken over the title of “most unpopular Saxon in all of Germany” from Walter Ulbricht. He wanted to apologize to Weselsky for this comment at Weselsky's expense. “But it went down well.”

The new GDL federal executive board will probably want to avoid similar popularity comparisons with former GDR heads of state.

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