FAQ
Status: 16.09.2021 4:28 p.m.
“The Gordian knot is resolved”, “the pension is safe”: Both Bahn boss Seiler and GDL boss Weselsky are satisfied with the agreement in the month-long tariff dispute. The details at a glance.
How did the agreement come about?
The GDL union and Deutsche Bahn had been involved in a collective bargaining dispute for months. After the opening negotiations in April, the talks were postponed several times and put on hold. The result was three strikes by the train drivers – with massive problems for commuters and travelers.
The GDL had ended their third and so far longest work stoppage in the past week, but threatened to start preparing for the next strike if the railway did not submit an improved offer. At the weekend, the group management finally met the train drivers and had promised, among other things, an additional remuneration component.
This brought a breath of fresh air to the deadlocked debate. An agreement was reached with the help of the federal states of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. The Prime Ministers Stephan Weil (SPD) and Daniel Günther (CDU) had been approached by the German Federation of Civil Servants and the German Federation of Trade Unions and had mediated in the negotiations. “We looked at the situation completely unencumbered,” explained Weil. Precisely because both politicians are neither tariff nor rail experts, the two topics of old-age provision and the scope of the Unified Collective Bargaining Act were quickly established as “key points”. “It took naive outside questions to untie the knot.”
What does the agreement look like?
The details were given by board member Martin Seiler and GDL boss Claus Weselsky together with the two politicians announced today at a press conference. Afterwards, both sides agreed on a wage increase of 3.3 percent in two stages over a period of 32 months. This year, salaries will increase by 1.5 percent and next year by 1.8 percent.
In addition, the employees receive a total of two Corona bonuses – on December 1, 2021 300 to 600 euros and on March 1, 2022 a further 400 euros. For the first time, the collective agreement also applies to employees in workshops and administration, but not to the infrastructure.
Above all, Weselsky described the controversial topic of company pension as a success: Anyone who is hired by Deutsche Bahn by December 31, 2021 will receive a company pension “guaranteed for their entire working life”. For employees who start at Deutsche Bahn in 2022, the employer pays 3.3 percent of the salary into a pension fund.
The GDL
The Union of German Locomotive Drivers (GDL) was founded in 1867, making it the oldest German union. It organizes the staff of the companies that are responsible for rail traffic and infrastructure – such as Deutsche Bahn. The GDL has more than 38,000 members all over Germany. It belongs to the DBB Beamtenbund and collective bargaining union.
Who came to meet whom?
In the first collective bargaining round in April, the GDL presented a 58-point catalog of demands. This included 4.8 percent more money and a corona bonus of 1,300 euros. Bahn boss Seiler described the demands at the time as “not realizable even in the best of times”. The group had then proposed a wage increase of 1.5 percent for a period from the beginning of 2022 to the end of February 2023.
After months of negotiations, the GDL recently demanded 3.2 percent more wages with a term of the collective agreement of 28 months and a corona premium of 600 euros. However, the railway wanted to extend the tariff increase over a longer period of time and initially offered a term of 40 months and then 36 months later. In addition, the group improved the corona premium – depending on the wage group, a payment of 600 or 400 euros.
It is not clear who will ultimately benefit more from the collective agreement. At least both sides are relieved. “The Gordian knot is undone,” explained Seiler. The bridge between customers, employees and the company was successful. Weselsky spoke of a good compromise: “I feel good.”
The EVG
The Railway and Transport Union (EVG) was created in 2010 through the merger of the TRANSNET and GBDA unions. The EVG organizes the personnel in the transport industry: bus drivers, service staff, inland waterway operators or railroad workers. According to its own information, it has around 180,000 members, making it larger than the GDL. The EVG belongs to the German trade union federation DGB.
Does that mean peace?
Deutsche Bahn passengers can therefore breathe a sigh of relief for the time being. After three strikes, there is initially no threat of further labor disputes by train drivers – at least until October 2023. Until then, the new collective bargaining agreement will apply.
However, it is not yet possible to speak of an end. The collective bargaining conflict is only finally ended when the railway reaches an agreement with the larger rival railway and transport union (EVG). Because the latter announced today that it will now, in turn, submit a catalog of requirements to the company. “We are preparing for negotiations, but also for measures including industrial action,” said EVG chairman Klaus-Dieter Hommel dpa.
But that happens calmly and without hectic. “If there is a degree with the GDL, we will take note of it and will evaluate it.” The EVG had already reached an agreement with Deutsche Bahn in 2020. The catch: it includes a special right of termination if another union gets more out of it. That is the case now. Hommel declared the “Alliance for our Railways” concluded with the federal government and the railways to have failed.
What is the Unified Collective Bargaining Act?
The Collective Bargaining Act was passed in 2015 to prevent strike calls by unions that represent only a small part of the workforce in a company. It must always be used when different employee representatives stand up for the same professional groups. According to the law, the union contract with most of the members applies in a company. This principle is called “one company – one collective agreement”. One point of criticism is the potential competition between unions, which can escalate and ultimately lead to disputes and strikes.
What does the agreement mean for the members of the EVG?
The relationship between the trade unions GDL and EVG was a sticking point in the current discussions. The railway has been applying the so-called uniform tariff law since April.
The GDL and the railway have now agreed on a procedure with which it is determined in which companies which organization has the majority. In 71 companies in which the distribution is unclear, recounts are to be counted under notarial supervision. In 16 of the 300 or so companies, the GDL has more members, in 55 the EVG.
After today’s wage agreement with the GDL, the railway also wants to achieve a quick understanding with the EVG. “We will ensure that if there is a discrepancy that it is transferred,” said Seiler, the HR director. “I think it is possible that we will come to the relevant rules with the EVG in a timely manner.”
The GDL responded promptly. “We finished differently, higher, visibly higher,” said GDL boss 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.” The dispute over the negotiations continues – but for the time being without any consequences for travelers.