As of: March 27, 2024, 4:47 a.m
By: Max Schäfer, Yannick Hanke
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The GDL counts the agreement with Deutsche Bahn as a success.
According to Weselsky, the union was able to achieve a “historic breakthrough”.
Update from March 26th, 1:00 p.m.:
GDL boss Claus Weselsky described the agreement with Deutsche Bahn as “a success, almost across the board”.
“I will start by pointing out that the 35-hour week is also being introduced bit by bit into the collective agreements at Deutsche Bahn AG and that pay will not be reduced,” said the trade unionist at a press conference.
“With the collective agreement, we have achieved a historic breakthrough and are therefore setting an example for other unions in this country.”
The GDL was only able to prevail on one point.
The union will not pass any collective agreements for infrastructure workers in the future.
In this area, too few employees took part in the labor disputes to justify such an expansion, explained Weselsky.
GDL boss Claus Weselsky is pleased with the agreement with Deutsche Bahn, but criticizes the company.
© Carsten Koall/dpa
Even after the agreement, the union criticized the railway's handling of the strike.
“Instead of negotiating sensibly, the company also relied on disinformation, defamation and annoyance of customers in this round with the aim of discrediting us in the eyes of the public.”
Bahn personnel director Seiler speaks of an “intelligent compromise” with GDL
Update from March 26th, 11:06 a.m.:
Railway personnel director Martin Seiler described the agreement with the GDL as an “intelligent compromise”.
The new regulations on weekly working hours are a “groundbreaking solution that enables flexibility, participation and transformation”.
Employees would now have the individual freedom to choose what best suits them and their phase of life.
The railway initially rejected the GDL's demand for a 35-hour week in collective bargaining, citing the shortage of skilled workers.
In view of the compromise, Seiler was optimistic in a statement from Deutsche Bahn: “The option model also gives the company the opportunity and capacity to continue to grow in the interests of customers despite a shortage of skilled workers and thus also does justice to the special situation on the labor market.”
According to Deutsche Bahn, the collective agreement has a term of 26 months, which applies retroactively from November 1, 2023 and ends on December 31, 2025.
Further strikes should then be ruled out for the time being.
The agreement provides for a negotiation phase with a peace obligation until the end of February 2026.
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Tariff dispute ended: GDL and Deutsche Bahn announced an agreement today - first details leaked
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.
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.
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/ms/dpa)