“Are ready to fight”
Railway workers want a strong increase in wages
2/6/2023, 7:44 p.m
For the EVG, the turnaround in traffic is a reason to pay railway employees significantly better. The union wants to determine the amount of their claim tomorrow. Deutsche Bahn believes that the traffic turnaround obliges its own staff to exercise restraint. The signs point to a dispute.
The members of the collective bargaining committees of the railway and transport union EVG have agreed to the forthcoming collective bargaining round with demands for a significant increase in wages. “We need a strong sip from the bottle, which our colleagues have earned,” said EVG chairman Martin Burkert in Fulda. “One should not expect wage restraint from us. The crises of this time must not be paid for by the employees.”
Anyone who wants to invest in the future of mobility and win more passengers for public transport not only has to spend money on the infrastructure, but also on additional staff. Spring will be hot, Burkert said, “it can even be very hot.” We are going into the bargaining round united, determined, with tailwind and well positioned and will conclude it successfully. “We are ready to fight,” said Burkert. “We are systemically relevant in the truest sense of the word. It is time that the hard work and great commitment was also “reflected in appropriate wage increases”.
Collective bargaining begins at the end of February
From the end of February, the union will be negotiating new wage agreements with Deutsche Bahn and 50 other transport companies. The EVG wants to decide on its industry-wide specific wage demand this Tuesday (February 7) in Fulda. More than 300 trade unionists came to the East Hessian city for the consultations.
DGB Chair Yasmin Fahimi said at the event that employers should show during the negotiations that they are seriously interested in further developing the industry. This plays a central role in the transition to a climate-neutral society, but at the same time suffers from lost travel, numerous cases of illness and other problems that are likely to increase given the age structure of the workforce. The pandemic with mask and distance controls also demanded a lot from the employees.
Bahn wants to hire 25,000 employees
Deutsche Bahn wants to hire around 25,000 new employees this year, thereby increasing the number of employees by 8,000. It is questionable, however, where these should come from in view of a payment that is only almost at the minimum wage level. “Do we seriously believe that masses of skilled workers will come from abroad for twelve euros?” Better pay is also necessary in view of the historically high inflation. “Money is tight despite work.” A “movement of employers” is therefore needed.
With regard to the 49-euro monthly ticket, Burkert said that this must also be a success for the employees. This was not the 9-euro ticket because the framework conditions were not right. The Deutschlandticket, which is valid nationwide, is scheduled to start on May 1st and will be on sale from April.
The personnel director of Deutsche Bahn, Martin Seiler, had recently warned that the talks and demands should also include the traffic turnaround. “We have to see what is possible in this period of change. We have to keep in mind that we don’t lose sight of the future orientation of the company,” he said in January. There needs to be a good balance between short-term recognition of the work and what can be achieved in the long term “without putting a strain on the mobility transition in any way”.