The Verdi union and the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) have agreed on better working conditions for the local transport company's approximately 16,000 employees. The collective agreement was reached on Wednesday in the fourth round of negotiations.
The crux of the negotiations was the question of the so-called turning times on all lines, i.e. the short time that drivers have at the final stops before they set off again in the opposite direction. Verdi wanted to increase this from four to ten minutes. The compromise now stipulates that “operational measures to relieve the burden” on drivers should first be tested in the second half of the year. From January 2025, the holding times for circuit lengths of 40 minutes or more will be increased to an average of six minutes. BVG is also introducing a further salary level retroactively to January 1st in order to enable long-term employees to receive an additional jump in income. The new collective agreement runs until December 2025.