in 2014 the gdl started a series of strikes of the german railway system as a result of deutsche bahn declining its demands for a shorter working week (reduced from 39 hours to 37 hours), for a 5% pay increase and for the right to independently represent 17,000 railway workers not working as engine drivers in collective bargaining processes. deutsche bahn maintained that it would only enter collective bargaining with a single trade union per job grouping, as was the case until june 2014 when gdl had an agreement with the much larger evg union.