Collective bargaining between EVG and Deutsche Bahn continues. This time, negotiations are to be held for three days. The signs are pointing to rapprochement.
Berlin/Fulda – The next round of negotiations in the wage dispute at Deutsche Bahn will take place this Tuesday in Fulda. For three days up to and including Thursday, the company and the railway and transport union (EVG) want to talk about higher tariffs for around 180,000 group employees. If they continue to fail to find a solution, there is a risk of renewed warning strikes or even a ballot by the EDC on indefinite strikes.
Rail wage dispute: First agreement on minimum wage already reached
Recently, there had been movement in the wage dispute, which had been deadlocked for months: Both sides cleared the sticking point of the minimum wage out of the way under the mediation of the Frankfurt Labor Court. Around 2000,50 employees had previously received the statutory minimum wage only through allowances. Deutsche Bahn has agreed to include it as a base in the fare tables retroactively to March. In this way, future tariff results can refer to this higher basis. Following the settlement, the EDC cancelled a planned <>-hour warning strike last week at short notice.
In Fulda, negotiations on the concrete collective bargaining demands are now to begin. The union wants at least 650 euros more or twelve percent for the upper incomes, as well as a term of twelve months.
So far, Deutsche Bahn has offered a tax-free and duty-free inflation compensation premium as well as a gradual tariff increase of a total of ten percent for lower and middle incomes and eight percent for higher incomes. With a term of 27 months, however, the first stage of this would not come until next year. However, the EVG is calling for an increase in the table before the end of 2023.
Collective bargaining between EVG and Deutsche Bahn continues today. © Annette Riedl/dpa
Wage dispute: EVG negotiates with dozens of transport companies
In addition to Deutsche Bahn, the union is negotiating with dozens of other railway companies about the same demands. It has already brought rail traffic in Germany to a standstill twice with nationwide warning strikes. A deal with the state-owned group is likely to set the direction for the negotiations at the other companies. Warning strikes would continue to be possible there as long as a compromise has not been reached everywhere. However, they would have a much smaller impact than with Deutsche Bahn.
The EVG is the larger of two unions at the state-owned company. The collective bargaining between Deutsche Bahn and the German Locomotive Drivers' Union (GDL) under its boss Claus Weselsky is not scheduled until autumn. At the beginning of June, however, the GDL wants to define its demands. (ph/dpa)
