Representatives of Germany's state railway company Deutsche Bahn and the train drivers union GDL met for another session of talks on Thursday in a bid to avert an all-out strike, according to dpa. "It's about pay and conditions," GDL chairman Manfred Schell said before the talks got under way at a secret location. "I think both parties have come to realize what is at stake and that time is running out." The union has threatened to call out its 15,000 members and bring rail services to a halt from January 7 if an agreement to end the eight-month dispute is not in sight by then. We don't want to strike, we want a result," said the union boss, adding that the talks would continue on Friday. The two sides resumed their talks December 22 after intervention by Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee. Two days earlier, the GDL had walked out of the negotiations citing lack of progress. Deutsche Bahn offered the union an 8 per cent pay raise but withdrew the offer after the GDL walked out of the talks. The GDL has scaled back its demand from 30 per cent to 10 per cent. The GDL has staged a series of strikes since July, hitting commuter and freight traffic particularly hard.
