As of: March 26, 2024, 3:22 p.m
By: Bona Hyun
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Deutsche Bahn and GDL have settled their long wage dispute and are being celebrated as a “success”.
Is the compromise the optimal solution?
Berlin – Passengers can finally breathe a sigh of relief: the strikes at Deutsche Bahn are now over.
Deutsche Bahn and GDL have reached an agreement in the month-long tariff dispute.
Deutsche Bahn is accommodating the union's core demand for a 35-hour week.
From Marcel Fratzscher's point of view, a step that is long overdue.
“It was high time for the GDL union and Deutsche Bahn to settle the collective bargaining dispute,” said the President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) to
Ippen.Media.
Tariff dispute is over: GDL and Deutsche Bahn agree on a 35-hour week
“The compromise reached is smart because it creates more flexibility for employees when choosing their working hours,” praised the DIW boss.
“The increased flexibility leads to more satisfaction, fewer sick days and therefore higher productivity, from which everyone benefits.” The delayed reduction in working hours to 35 hours by 2029 is also good because it buys Deutsche Bahn time and new skilled workers to find and train.
An agreement has finally been reached in the collective bargaining dispute between Deutsche Bahn and GDL.
© Steinach/imago/Carsten Koall/dpa (montage)
“Politicians and collective bargaining parties should draw important lessons from this industrial dispute and adapt the right to strike in the future so that there is a quicker agreement and the economic damage remains limited.
The solution that has now been found could have been achieved six or twelve months ago,” said Fratzscher.
No more strikes after agreement between GDL and Deutsche Bahn
GDL boss Claus Weselsky described the collective bargaining agreement with the railway as a success “almost across the board”.
“I will start by pointing out that the 35-hour week will also be gradually introduced into the collective agreements at Deutsche Bahn AG and that wages will not be reduced,” said Weselsky on Tuesday (March 26, 2024).
In recent weeks, the tariff dispute between Deutsche Bahn and GDL has threatened to escalate.
During a renewed negotiation phase, both sides were able to agree on a compromise after more than four months of collective bargaining dispute.
They have now agreed on an optional model with which employees can gradually reduce their working hours from the current 38 to up to 35 hours per week by 2029, with wages and salaries remaining the same.
GDL and Deutsche Bahn find a compromise: DIW boss praises the decision
However, employees can also stick to their existing working hours or increase them to up to 40 hours.
They then receive 2.7 percent more money for each hour that is not reduced or increased.
The fees will also be increased in two steps by 420 euros per month.
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According to Fratzscher, the wage increase primarily supports employees with lower wages, which should reduce the inequality of wages and income somewhat and thus protect employees with lower wages in particular against the high inflation of recent years.
The strike at Deutsche Bahn is an example of the fight for a four-day week
The tariff dispute at the railway is an example of the fight for the four-day week.
According to the
MDR
, 45 German companies started testing a four-day week in February 2024.
But would such a model have potential in Germany?
Fratzscher said: “A four-day week can work well for some companies, but should not be set as a binding model for all companies.
The lessons of the past few years show that more flexibility and not more conformity is the best solution to increase productivity, satisfaction and performance.”
In Great Britain, several companies have already reported positive results after a four-day week project.
56 of 61 employers said they wanted to keep the four-day week.
The number of sick days fell by around two thirds (65 percent) during the test period and the number of employees who left the company during this time fell by more than half (57 percent).
However, the results are based on the evaluation of companies that volunteered to participate.
(bohy with dpa)