2023-06-21 20:57:28
On Wednesday evening things are suddenly moving fast: After a long wait and tough negotiations, the collective bargaining committee of the railway and transport union (EVG) leaves the IG Metall building in Berlin-Kreuzberg with their suitcases packed. Brief confusion – but then it is clear: the wage negotiations at Deutsche Bahn, which have been held since the end of February, have failed.
Bahn: EVG throws away almost finished collective bargaining agreement
Deutsche Bahn has sharply criticized the termination of collective bargaining by the EVG. “The bodies of the EVG are not willing to compromise. The victims are our employees and our passengers,” said DB HR Director Martin Seiler on Wednesday evening, according to a statement. “The EVG throws away an almost completed agreement and sets everything to zero shortly before the goal. An agreement was within reach, 140 pages of tariff text are already finished. What is happening now is unbelievable.”
“We were ready to go to our limits to achieve a good, balanced conclusion. After all, a real compromise always hurts both sides in the end,” said Seiler. “The summer holidays are just around the corner, travelers want to plan. And our employees finally want more money.”
Strikes possible during the summer holidays
“The Central Collective Bargaining Commission of the EVG declared the negotiations with Deutsche Bahn on Wednesday evening to have failed following a long and very intensive discussion,” the union said in a brief email. Translated, this means: no new collective agreement, no solution to the conflict following more than a dozen days of negotiations. And: Possibly long strikes during the summer holidays of all times.
The EVG went into the negotiations with big goals: it should be 650 euros more salary per month, for the upper income groups plus twelve percent for a twelve-month term. How much was on the table on Wednesday evening initially remained open. However, it became clear during the course of the day that there was a bad mood in the collective bargaining committee because of the latest status of negotiations.
The crux of the matter is the runtime
The Federal Executive Board of the EVG is to decide on how to proceed on Thursday in Berlin. In addition to indefinite strikes, an arbitration procedure is also possible, in which one or more neutrally selected persons might bring the parties to the collective bargaining agreement back together. A few weeks ago, the way to a solution was paved in the collective bargaining dispute in the public sector.
“The most difficult point is still the term, i.e. the time frame in which salary increases should take place,” EVG boss Martin Burkert told the news portal “t-online” before the negotiations failed.
Negotiations have been going on since the end of February
Since the end of February, the EVG has been negotiating with dozens of railway companies regarding higher wages and salaries for a total of around 230,000 employees. The focus was on the negotiations with Deutsche Bahn (DB), where a good 180,000 of these employees work.
The union fought for its goals with two warning strikes: in March, they almost completely paralyzed train traffic for 24 hours, in April on a Friday morning for eight hours. Union boss Burkert said “t-online” that the wage dispute and the warning strikes had allowed the union to grow: “We have already gained 6,500 new members, which is 2,500 more than last year.”
Degrees at private railways this week
At the beginning of the current week, the EVG then surprised with deals with the private railways, which focus on wage increases of 420 euros in several stages, a term of mostly 21 months and 1,000 to 1,400 euros inflation compensation premium. This means that standards have also been set for the talks with DB, it said. In the industry, it was recently assumed that the private railways would wait for the conclusion of the market leader DB. It won’t be there any time soon.
At the end of May, Deutsche Bahn promised twelve percent more in several stages for the lower wage groups over a period of two years. The middle groups should get a total of ten percent more and the upper groups eight percent. The first stage of the increase should therefore be scheduled for this year. An inflation compensation premium in several installments totaling EUR 2,850 was also planned, which would be tax-free and payable in several installments.
The DB announcement from Wednesday evening shows that the percentage increases in the negotiations were replaced by a fixed amount and, in return, the term was increased from 24 to 27 months – but that was not enough for a deal.
With information from dpa
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