No agreement
Bahn and EVG end tariff talks for the time being – further strikes are imminent
Will the trains stop again soon? Most recently, the EVG rail union went on strike last Friday
© Jens Büttner / DPA
The offer from the railways was not enough for the EVG union – now the third round of collective bargaining has ended for the time being. The negotiations were adjourned in Fulda on Wednesday without a result. More warning strikes are threatened.
Deutsche Bahn has declared the third round of talks in the wage dispute with the EVG union to be over – there is no result. “Yesterday we submitted a significantly improved offer, historically the highest offer in the history of Deutsche Bahn,” said HR Director Martin Seiler in Fulda on Wednesday. “Nevertheless, the EVG has described this as non-negotiable and is not prepared to enter into negotiations at all on this basis.” The EVG’s refusal was incomprehensible.
The railway and transport union (EVG) was “extremely irritated” by Deutsche Bahn’s decision to end the third wage round. “That can mean that there will be new strikes,” said EVG negotiator Kristian Loroch on Wednesday in Fulda. However, he did not initially name any concrete plans. “Instead of looking for ways together to negotiate, the negotiator at DB AG packs his bags and leaves the place of negotiation,” criticized Loroch. “We wanted to make big strides and had already extended our stay in Fulda until Friday.”
Already on Friday, the EVG paralyzed regional and long-distance traffic nationwide for a few hours. The next hearing is scheduled for the end of May.
The EVG demands a higher offer from the railways
The state-owned railway had submitted another offer for around 180,000 employees on Tuesday. In addition to a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment of a total of 2850 euros, it provides for a gradual increase from March next year of a total of 10 percent for the lower and middle wage groups and 8 percent for the upper wage groups. The union rejected the offer as non-negotiable.
In the collective bargaining conflict with the railway industry, she demands at least 650 euros more per month or twelve percent for the upper income earners and a term of one year.
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The crux of the negotiations at Deutsche Bahn also remains the question of the minimum wage. Around 2000 employees receive this only through allowances. Even before the substantive tariff talks, the EVG wants to set the statutory minimum wage of twelve euros per hour in the tariff tables. Deutsche Bahn, in turn, offers a minimum wage of 13 euros, but does not want to include this in the tables until August 2024. The union strictly rejects this.
The talks are part of the collective bargaining round in the railway industry. In addition to the railway, the EVG is negotiating with around 50 other companies.