As of: March 26, 2024, 7:32 a.m
By: Yannick Hanke
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The GDL and Deutsche Bahn have reached an agreement in their months-long tariff dispute.
Further strikes are therefore averted.
Update from March 26th, 6:54 a.m.:
According to a media report, Deutsche Bahn and the train drivers' union GDL have agreed on a gradual reduction in working hours after months of negotiations.
The news portal
Politico
reported on Tuesday that a “working time corridor” should be set up that would allow employees to reduce their working hours annually until 2029 with full wage compensation.
At the beginning of 2026, this reduction will automatically take place to 37 hours.
Anyone who wants to work 40 hours can do so for around 2.7 percent more wages.
According to the report, reductions to 36 hours from 2027, to 35.5 hours from 2028 and to 35 hours from 2029 are planned for the following years.
However, they no longer take place automatically, but only optionally at the request of the employees.
The parties also agreed on a salary increase of 420 euros per month for 26 months retroactively to November 1, 2023, Politico reported.
However, the newly created Deutsche Bahn subsidiary, DB InfraGO, should not be included in the GDL collective agreement.
Collective bargaining dispute with train drivers ended: GDL announces agreement with Deutsche Bahn
First report
- Frankfurt am Main - As the train drivers' union announced on Monday evening (March 25), the GDL and Deutsche Bahn (DB) have reached an agreement in their wage dispute that has been going on for months.
This prevented further strikes.
“The German Locomotive Drivers Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a collective agreement,” it says officially in a corresponding letter.
Further details will be announced on Tuesday at a GDL press conference.
GDL and Deutsche Bahn reach an agreement – further strikes averted, more information on Tuesday
Deutsche Bahn also invited people to make their own statement from Human Resources Director Martin Seiler on Tuesday morning “on the current status of the collective bargaining agreement with the GDL”.
After a total of six strike phases in the current round of negotiations, a failed moderation between the two parties and a dispute in court, there were recently renewed talks between GDL and DB.
Reached an agreement and thereby averted further strikes: Deutsche Bahn (DB) and GDL chairman Claus Weselsky.
© Sina Schuldt/dpa/Ardan Fuessmann/imago/Montage
The focus of the current collective bargaining round was the GDL demand for a 35-hour week for shift workers with consistent wages and salaries.
A demand that quickly became the central point of contention.
At a previous round of talks, Deutsche Bahn had shown itself ready to commit to 36 hours with full wage compensation in two steps until 2028.
The GDL under its chairman Claus Weselsky rejected this.
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The current round of negotiations between DB and GDL resulted in six strike phases
Just a few days ago, DB and GDL expressed optimism that a possible collective agreement could be reached soon.
In February, the union and Deutsche Bahn had been negotiating behind closed doors for some time.
At that time, external mediators were also brought in.
But the corresponding discussions should fail even with moderation.
The GDL's strikes, some of which lasted for days, and some at the same time as those of the airport staff, triggered a major debate about the right to strike in Germany.
Traffic was constantly at a standstill across the country.
Further strikes should now be over as an agreement has been reached.
Sometimes there was even thought about restricting dispute law.
“Important signal of security”: Politicians react to agreement between DB and GDL
The agreement has already been met with relief in politics.
“It is an important signal of safety and reliability for the millions of commuters and the expected travelers over the Easter holidays,” Isabel Cademartor, transport policy spokeswoman for the SPD parliamentary group, is quoted as saying.
“The agreement is a win for the rail system, which will face major challenges in the next few months,” it continues.
Looking back, it should be noted that due to repeated strikes, the railway was only able to offer a basic range of long-distance trains, which affected millions of travelers.
And the local economy also suffered from the strikes.
Finally, the strikes also affected freight transport.
Industrial customers of the railway subsidiary DB Cargo, for example from the automotive and chemical sectors, had to reschedule;
Business trips, such as to trade fairs, were canceled.
The employer-related Institute of the German Economy (IW) estimated the costs of a nationwide strike on the railways at up to 100 million euros in lost economic output per day.
(han/dpa)