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After weeks of disputes, Deutsche Bahn and the Union of Railways and Transport (EVG) reached an agreement on their collective bargaining. Both sides agreed to moderate wage and salary increases on Thursday, as announced by the union and the group. The exact numbers were not initially known. During the negotiations, both parties agreed to a corridor of 0.5 to 1.5 percent more wages. The EVG recently asked for 1.5 percent more money for employees. The negotiating partners want to present details on Friday morning.
“Our collective agreement protects DB AG employees from the effects of the corona pandemic until early 2023. That was exactly our goal,” EVG Chairman-designate Klaus-Dieter Hommel said Thursday. According to an evening statement, the deal is a “balanced deal” for Deutsche Bahn. Personnel Director Martin Seiler announced: “In times of job cuts or reduced hours in the German economy, the agreement is a common sign of responsibility.”
According to EVG, the rate package excludes operational layoffs for the entire period. Additionally, employees with children have the option of taking up to 50 days off for childcare. Therefore, 100 days are for single-parent families.
The collective bargaining negotiations advanced due to the Corona crisis also addressed the question of how around two billion euros in staff can be saved by 2024 without jeopardizing Deutsche Bahn’s hiring campaign. In May, Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU), the board of directors of state-owned DB AG, EVG and the group’s works council in the “Alliance for our Railways” agreed that there should be no downsizing or putting end to continuous hiring. This year alone, Deutsche Bahn wants to gain 25,000 new employees. According to Deutsche Bahn, a job offer for around 21,000 has already been made.
However, the group suffered billions of dollars in losses in the crown crisis, some of which were offset by the federal government. But the company must also cut costs. The increase in wages and salaries will now be correspondingly small. Last week, union committees demanded 1.5 percent more wages, the upper limit of a range that both parties had previously agreed to. In the previous collective agreement two years ago, the union had achieved a pay increase in two stages of 3.5 percent and 2.6 percent. Now the jump should be much less. It remains to be seen if there is also a fare package with the GDL train conductors union. In Germany alone, Deutsche Bahn employs almost 215,000 people.
