The railways have been negotiating tariffs for months, and commuters and travelers are always concerned about new warning strikes. Everything is still open.
According to previous plans, the current round of talks in the collective bargaining negotiations at Deutsche Bahn should end today. Shortly before the end of this round of negotiations, which has been going on since Monday, important questions are still unanswered:
Is there another warning strike? Is there a conclusion in sight? Will the round of negotiations be extended by more days? Many scenarios are conceivable. The negotiators were recently covered.
This also means that commuters and travelers could be hit by a warning strike with train cancellations at any time. The railway and transport union EVG recently issued the motto “Those who negotiate do not go on strike”. But at some point even the longest negotiations reach a dead end. Should there be a warning strike, this should be announced in advance.
Another walkout would be the third since the wage conflict began at the end of February. Previously, thousands of workers had stopped work for 24 hours in March, and in April the industrial action lasted eight hours on a Friday morning. A planned 50-hour strike in May was canceled at short notice after a legal dispute at the labor court in Frankfurt am Main.
The sticking points in the negotiations since Monday
With wage increases and the duration of the collective agreement, the negotiators have put the thickest chunks at the end of the negotiations – that’s quite common in collective bargaining. “There is still a lot of potential for conflict, because the expectations of the colleagues are high – and with them the willingness to go on strike,” said EVG negotiator Kristian Lorch.
The EVG calls for a fixed amount of at least 650 euros per month for a good 180,000 employees at Deutsche Bahn (DB), or twelve percent more for the upper wage groups. According to their ideas, the term should be twelve months.
Deutsche Bahn had recently promised twelve percent more in several stages for the lower wage groups over a period of 24 months. 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 come this year. In addition, there is an inflation compensation premium in several payments totaling 2850 euros, which is tax and duty-free.
The possible scenarios
According to the information provided by both sides, the talks up until Wednesday were intensive and constructive. However, it is conceivable that the EVG today threatens or immediately calls for a warning strike because of the excessive differences in terms of duration and fee increase. In this way, the union could try to persuade the employers to make a better offer. Depending on the duration of the labor dispute, the railways should definitely take such an action. During the two warning strikes in March and April, not only long-distance traffic came to a standstill, freight traffic also came to a virtual standstill – which is associated with great costs.
Should the EVG even declare the negotiations to have failed, a strike vote could then follow for an indefinite period. However, that would mean a significant escalation of the conflict.
Alternatively, both sides could agree to extend the current round into the weekend or look for a new date in the next few days – possibly with a cancellation of work stoppages until such a date. Or: EVG and Bahn present an agreement. DB HR Director Martin Seiler emphasized on Wednesday that this must be the common goal.
The interim report from Wednesday
Before the wage increases and the term of the collective agreement, the bus companies of Deutsche Bahn, the freight transport subsidiary DB Cargo and the internal service providers of the state-owned group were on the agenda. For example, the EVG wants to abolish the regional differences in pay for the employees of the 18 bus companies. Deutsche Bahn worries about the profitability and competitiveness of these companies with higher personnel costs. For example, DB Cargo made a loss before interest and taxes of 665 million euros in 2022.
Source: Stern
