As of: March 27, 2024, 3:49 p.m
By: Max Schäfer
Comments
Press
Split
The 35-hour week at the railway makes the train driver job more attractive.
Nevertheless, there is a shortage of skilled workers here too.
The Pro-Rail Alliance wants to change that.
Munich – The working conditions for train drivers at Deutsche Bahn are getting better.
With the collective agreement between the train drivers' union GDL and the DB Group, employees will have the choice in the future: do they want to work less or get more money.
From 2029, a 35-hour week will be possible.
Alternatively, train drivers receive 2.7 percent more money for every hour more.
“The now agreed option for reduced weekly working hours will ensure an additional need for skilled workers,” explained the Pro-Rail Alliance.
The interest group admitted that this would make the train driver profession more attractive.
More flexible working hours could be a “real advantage,” the association quotes Jürgen Grenz, managing director of EisenbahnJobs GmbH.
“We can promote the profession of train driver even more, especially among young people.”
Pro-Rail Alliance calls for bottleneck occupation classification for train driver jobs – to combat the shortage of skilled workers
However, the Pro-Rail Alliance is calling for further steps to be taken to combat the shortage of train drivers: the Federal Employment Agency should classify train drivers as a shortage profession.
So far the job is only under observation.
The reasons for this classification are “not really understandable,” said association boss Dirk Flege.
He points to the need for train drivers: the industry must “hire five to ten thousand train drivers every year by the end of the decade.”
To ensure that the space at the front of the train does not remain empty, the Pro-Rail Alliance is calling on the employment agency to classify train drivers as a bottleneck profession.
(Symbolic photo) © Sebastian Kahnert/dpa
According to the Federal Employment Agency, a shortage occupation is a job in which six indicators predominantly indicate a shortage.
This includes, for example, the length of time it takes to fill registered positions, the job-specific unemployment rate and the salary development.
According to the employment agency, three indicators showed “signs of a bottleneck” for train drivers in the 2022 assessment.
The employment agency should enable more people to make a career change to become a train driver
The interest group for the promotion of the railway is also calling for the employment agency to expand educational vouchers.
So far, the vouchers have only been given to people who are at risk of unemployment or are already unemployed.
The Pro-Rail Alliance wants to expand this.
“We need a more generous awarding practice here that takes into account the great need for train drivers,” explained Dirk Flege.
Instead, the education vouchers should also be given to interested parties who have a job but want to reorient themselves.
This should enable more people to make lateral entry.
The employees should then have the opportunity to continue their training and obtain a professional qualification as a railway worker in the operational service if they wish, according to a position paper from the Pro-Rail Alliance.
(ms/afp)