More warning strikes possible
Bahn rejects further talks with EVG
05/30/2023, 11:31 p.m
The railway union EVG is not satisfied with Deutsche Bahn’s latest offer, but wants to continue negotiations. The group refuses. The union doesn’t move a millimeter. The next warning strikes are therefore no longer ruled out.
In the collective bargaining dispute at Deutsche Bahn, the group reacted with incomprehension to the rejection of its latest offer by the railway and transport union (EVG). “The union shows no concessions and does not propose any solutions. They simply stubbornly insist on their initial demands,” criticized DB HR Director Martin Seiler. The railways rejected further negotiations in their statement during the night. “It’s pointless at the moment because the ECG doesn’t move a millimeter,” Seiler was quoted as saying. The company now wants to “evaluate the overall situation comprehensively” and discuss further steps in the responsible committees.
The EVG had rejected the group’s recently improved offer late Tuesday evening as insufficient and called on the employer side for further negotiations in Berlin this Wednesday. “Essential points of our demands have still not been met,” said negotiator Kristian Loroch. “What is currently on the table is socially unfair.” Further negotiations are in the interest of the group, “because as long as we sit at the negotiating table, there will be no strikes.”
Whether there will be further warning strikes depends on the next few days. The railway had submitted the current offer at the most recent round of negotiations in Fulda last week and gradually announced twelve percent for the lower wage groups. The middle groups should get a total of ten percent more, the upper groups eight percent. The first stage of the increase should therefore be implemented this year. In addition, there is also a gradual inflation compensation premium totaling 2850 euros, which could be paid tax- and duty-free from this July. The term is 24 months.
EVG so far against one-time payments
Measured against the previous offers, the railways have made further concessions to the EVG, but the two sides are still far apart: the union is demanding a fixed amount of at least 650 euros per month more or twelve percent for the upper wage groups. According to their ideas, the term should only be twelve months. EVG has so far strictly rejected one-off payments. Further warning strikes or even a ballot that could result in indefinite strikes are therefore not off the table.
The EVG has already twice called for warning strikes in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute, which has largely brought rail traffic in Germany to a standstill. The union canceled a third planned 50-hour warning strike at short notice after reaching a settlement with the railways before the Frankfurt labor court in one of the negotiating sticking points.