FromPatricia Huber
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In the collective bargaining dispute of the EVG railway union, the next round of strikes is about to begin. On Friday, the employees are supposed to stop working for several hours.
Update from April 19, 10:44 am: Deutsche Bahn (DB) has condemned the warning strike by the railway and transport union (EVG) planned for Friday morning as “completely useless and unnecessary”. Friday is the day of the week with the most travel, and the warning strike is hitting many commuters “particularly hard,” explained DB HR Director Martin Seiler on Wednesday. Deutsche Bahn expects “significant restrictions” in long-distance and regional transport on Friday. “Anyone who can reschedule should do so,” said Seiler.
The EVG have “completely lost measure and middle” and rely “only on riots”. Seiler accused the union of carrying out its competition with the Union of German Locomotive Drivers (GDL) “at the expense of the passengers”. “That’s not serious.” The warning strike is a “pure member acquisition campaign”.
EVG announces renewed warning strike
First report from April 19, 8:45 a.m.: This Friday, commuters and travelers will again have to adjust to far-reaching restrictions on long-distance and regional transport by Deutsche Bahn and other transport companies. The railway and transport union (EVG) has called for warning strikes lasting several hours in the ongoing wage dispute in the railway industry. Between 3:00 a.m. on Friday morning and 11:00 a.m. in the morning, employees in all railway companies where negotiations are taking place should stop working, the union announced on Wednesday.
Train strike: commuters and long-distance transport – who is particularly affected
“We are sending a clear signal that we don’t want to hit the passengers, but the companies, by calling for a temporary warning strike in the early hours this time,” said EVG board member Cosima Ingenschay. However, this should particularly affect commuter traffic and thus commuters. In addition, the long-distance traffic of Deutsche Bahn in particular is likely to come to a standstill throughout the day because the trains cannot be put on the route in the morning.
The EVG continues its negotiations with the railway company Transdev this Wednesday. In the coming week, talks should also continue at Deutsche Bahn, which is a particular focus. In the negotiations with the industry, the employee representatives are demanding at least 650 euros more per month or twelve percent for the upper income groups and a term of twelve months. The union is currently negotiating in the second round with around 50 railway companies.
Next Friday there is another warning strike at the railways. This is expected to affect commuters and long-distance traffic in particular.
© IMAGO/Christoph Hardt
Second rail strike: 2.5 million workers demand more money
The EVG had already organized a first warning strike at the end of March together with the Verdi trade union. At that time, not only regional and long-distance rail transport but also air and water transport were at a standstill. Verdi is currently negotiating with the federal and local governments about more money for the approximately 2.5 million public sector employees.
Independent arbitrators proposed a solution last weekend in the wage dispute in the public sector. This initially provides for a tax and royalty-free inflation adjustment in several stages of a total of 3000 euros. From March 2024 there will then be a base amount of 200 euros and then a wage increase of 5.5 percent.
The railways had recently made it clear that they also considered a compromise of this magnitude to be conceivable for the railway industry. In the next round of negotiations on April 25 in Fulda, the company announced on Sunday that a conclusion could be reached quickly. The EVG, in turn, immediately rejected such a tariff solution for its own industry. (ph/dpa)
List of rubrics: © IMAGO/Christoph Hardt