The wage dispute between EVG and Deutsche Bahn is escalating. After the breakdown of the negotiations, the union wants to bring the railway to its knees with "week-long strikes"
Berlin – The wage dispute between the railway and transport union (EVG) and Deutsche Bahn is escalating. In the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the union announced "week-long strikes" and a paralysis of rail transport. Two warning strikes should have been enough to get a negotiable wage offer from Deutsche Bahn, according to the EVG. "But the railway is apparently not interested in serious negotiations," said Cosima Ingenschay, who is negotiating with Kristian Loroch for the union.
EVG: "If you have Deutsche Bahn as an employer, you don't need enemies anymore!"
Deutsche Bahn had declared the talks of the third round of negotiations last Wednesday to be over. The reason was the union's refusal to negotiate the new offer of the railway for around 180,000 employees, the state-owned company had announced. In addition to a tax-free and duty-free inflation compensation of a total of 2850 euros, it provided for a gradual increase from March of next year of a total of 10 percent for the lower and middle and 8 percent for the upper wage groups. The union considers the offer to be negotiable.
With nationwide warning strikes, the railway and transport union EVG has paralyzed parts of public transport. © Sebastian Kahnert/dpa
"As an employer, the state-owned company DB AG seems more and more like a total failure," said Andrea Wylegala, member of the EVG Federal Executive Board. "If you have Deutsche Bahn as an employer, you don't need enemies anymore!"
EDC: No warning strikes in the coming week
However, there will be no strikes in the coming week. Currently, the further course of action in the wage dispute with Deutsche Bahn is being discussed, the Tagesspiegel reported on Friday from trade union circles. Accordingly, warning strikes lasting several days or several warning strikes in one week are being discussed. Travelers would be contacted at least two days' notice.
Deutsche Bahn has called on EVG to continue negotiations as quickly as possible. "Our employees are waiting for money, our passengers expect solutions," said Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz in Berlin. "We therefore call on the EDC to continue the negotiations immediately and not to drag out the collective bargaining round any further." A solution is possible and urgently needed.
Lutz emphasized that the current employer offer is the highest in the Group's history. "We have more than doubled our initial offer and taken a huge step towards the union." The EDC is acting with an attitude of refusal, "which is neither sensible nor comprehensible".
Next hearing date not until the end of May
The next strikes would be more massive than before, the union announced. "The system of the railway is so fragile, if we take out a few signal boxes, then everything collapses. The new strikes could have an impact for several days," Ingenschay told the SZ. No specific dates have yet been announced.
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The EVG demands at least 650 euros more per month or twelve percent for the upper incomes as well as a term of one year. Above all, the offer of the railway was criticized that it should be a term of 27 months. The next hearing with Deutsche Bahn is scheduled for the end of May. (with material from dpa)