How Bahn and GDL reached an agreement

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BerlinBreakthrough in the collective bargaining dispute at Deutsche Bahn: The company and the train drivers’ union GDL have agreed on a collective agreement after a tough struggle. “The Gordian knot is through,” said Bahn personnel director Martin Seiler on Thursday in Berlin. The two sides agreed, among other things, on a wage increase of 1.5 percent this year and 1.8 percent next year. In addition, depending on the pay group, employees receive a corona bonus of 600, 400 or 300 euros in December. On March 1, 2022, there should be a further surcharge of 400 euros. The existing company pensions of the railway workers remain unchanged. This point was particularly important to the union. From 2022, the company pension plan will only continue for existing employees. GDL boss Claus Weselsky spoke of a “good compromise”. The term of the newly concluded collective agreement is 32 months and applies until the end of October 2023.

Rail dispute with the GDL: Prime Ministers have intervened

This means that Deutsche Bahn customers can also breathe a sigh of relief. After months of negotiations and three rounds of strikes, there is currently no threat of further labor disputes by the train drivers. However, outside help was necessary for this. The Prime Ministers of Schleswig Holstein and Lower Saxony, Daniel Günther (CDU) and Stephan Weil (SPD), had intervened in the wage conflict. “It wasn’t arbitration, it was moderation, participation in discussions – something in between,” said Weil. And further: “If it has worked, it’s good.” The passenger association Pro Bahn and Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer also welcomed the agreement. The result stands for a “relief for millions of rail customers and also for the German economy,” said the CSU politician on Thursday. Now it is a matter of the company recovering economically and building on increasing passenger numbers. However, it is unclear how expensive the contract with the GDL will be for the railways. Board member Martin Seiler did not want to comment on this, even when asked.

For the first time, the GDL has concluded collective agreements for employees in workshops and administration in addition to train personnel, but not for the infrastructure. The collective agreement only applies if the GDL has the most members in the respective company. The law on collective bargaining is responsible for this, which provides that in a company with competing trade unions only the collective agreement of the larger employee representation may be applied. The GDL has the majority in 16 of the 300 or so railway companies, in 71 companies it has yet to be determined. Bahn and GDL have now agreed to review the majority situation in a “notarial procedure” – together with the larger rival union EVG. However, the GDL does not move away from its fundamental criticism of the Unified Collective Bargaining Act. “A good trade unionist can not make peace with this law,” said GDL boss Weselsky and announced that he would continue to recruit members.

The coexistence of different unions ensures that the rail wage conflict has not yet been fully resolved even after an agreement with the GDL. For this, the group must now come to an agreement with the EVG. “I think it is possible that we will come to the relevant rules with the EVG in a timely manner,” said Deutsche Bahn board member Martin Seiler. Last year, the Deutsche Bahn and EVG had already agreed on a collective agreement. However, the agreement with the GDL goes beyond this contract in parts. No EVG member should be placed worse off, announced Seiler. The rail board praised the union for showing great solidarity in the Corona crisis – a swipe at the GDL, who was willing to strike.

Bahn: EVG threatens to strike, GDL is also dissatisfied

The EVG was open to discussions, but at the same time created a threatening backdrop. “We are preparing for negotiations, but also for measures including industrial action,” said EVG boss Klaus-Dieter Hommel of the German Press Agency (dpa). Hommel also sharply criticized the commitment of the prime ministers. “That is a blow to the office of collective bargaining,” he said. The GDL is also dissatisfied – albeit for different reasons. GDL boss Weselsky criticized the fact that the railway is now approaching the EVG. “We finished differently, higher, visibly higher,” said Weselsky. “We spend millions, go on strike, let ourselves be insulted, and at the end of the day we can watch how the collective bargaining agreement is carried out after the others.”

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