2024-03-16 21:11:34
Deutsche Bahn passengers can slowly gain hope. There should be no further strikes by the train drivers’ union GDL for the time being.
Take a deep breath for Deutsche Bahn passengers: After two more strikes by the train drivers’ union GDL within two weeks, both sides are negotiating with each other again in the collective bargaining dispute that has been simmering for months. “Both parties are confident that they will be able to announce a result next week,” wrote the railway on Saturday. Until then, the GDL will refrain from further strikes. “An agreement was reached on many topics,” the railway said.
According to the statement, the discussions will take place behind closed doors. It was agreed not to disclose the further status of the negotiations. “The negotiations are intensive but constructive,” said Deutsche Bahn.
Most recently, both sides met in camera for several weeks in February to find a solution to the collective bargaining dispute. The former Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière and Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther (both CDU) mediated this phase. It initially remained unclear whether the two would appear as moderators again in this round of negotiations.
Solution for reducing working hours?
This time, despite the possibility, it will not be a formal arbitration either. The GDL in particular has so far rejected this. In such a case, both sides would first reach an arbitration agreement. This often means that an arbitrator’s decision is binding for both sides. This did not apply to the compromise proposal that de Maizière and Günther made in the most recent round of negotiations. However, the union did not want to follow this suggestion.
The most recent crucial point in the negotiations was the dispute over a reduction in working hours for shift workers from 38 to 35 hours per week, as demanded by the GDL, with the same salary. The railway had shown itself ready to reduce working hours to 36 hours without financial losses in two steps by 2028. However, GDL boss Claus Weselsky did not accept this.
GDL has gone on strike six times so far
The union has already concluded collective agreements with more than two dozen other railway companies that stipulate the 35-hour week. However, they are subject to the reservation that the railway will also agree to such a deal. Otherwise, the existing contracts would be adjusted accordingly. Weselsky wants to prevent that.
The GDL has already called for industrial action six times in the collective bargaining dispute. Most recently, the union resorted to a so-called wave strike, which it announced at much shorter notice than previous strikes. With the resumption of negotiations, the GDL has now committed itself to refraining from further strikes for the duration of the talks.