Stuck tariff dispute: Bahn lures GDL with corona premium


Stuck tariff dispute
Bahn attracts GDL with a corona bonus

Deutsche Bahn speaks of a “strong signal of willingness to reach agreement”: With the promise of a corona bonus, the company is trying to bring the GDL union back to the negotiating table. The train drivers’ strike in freight transport, which has been going on since Saturday, is affecting the industry.

With the offer of a corona bonus for employees, Deutsche Bahn wants to avert the announced strike in passenger transport. The train drivers’ union GDL had called on its members to stop trains in long-distance and regional traffic from Monday. “With a corona bonus we are responding to an important concern of the unions,” said Martin Seiler, Chief Human Resources Officer. This is “a strong signal of willingness to come to an agreement”. According to Bahn, the money should be paid out for 2021. Seiler did not name an amount. “This means that there can be no longer any reason to refuse to return to the negotiating table,” he added. “Now it’s just up to the GDL.”

Since Saturday, the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) has been striking the freight traffic for the second time this month, and on Monday the strike is to be extended to passenger traffic again. The end of the strike is scheduled for 2 a.m. on Wednesday. Upon request, the GDL has not yet commented on Seiler’s approach. Among other things, she had asked for a corona premium of 600 euros. The points of contention in the collective bargaining dispute also include the increase in table wages and the duration of the collective agreement. There is also a dispute about old-age provision.

From the point of view of the Federal Association of Materials Management, Purchasing and Logistics (BME), the freight transport strike is further exacerbating the bottlenecks in the industry. “Sooner or later, consumers should feel that too, for example when building or buying a car,” said BME logistics expert Carsten Knauer. The shortage of chips or material bottlenecks, such as with wood in construction, are already causing problems for the respective industries.

The strike would add another problem for the sectors that rely primarily on rail for their supply chains. According to Knauer, this includes the steel and chemical industries as well as the automotive industry. There are hardly any transport alternatives, for example in the case of rail competition, on the rails or on the road. “Every mode of transport is totally overbooked and the prices are going through the roof,” said Knauer. “It is currently as good as impossible in the short term to shift traffic onto the road.”

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