In the collective bargaining dispute with Deutsche Bahn, the train drivers’ union GDL has submitted an agreement proposal to the company, according to information from Bayerischer Rundfunk.
According to the GDL, the offer, which includes, among other things, a gradual reduction in working hours, would have to be negotiated further. If the railway accepts the demand in principle, the strikes could possibly be suspended.
Deutsche Bahn confirmed to the BR in the evening that it had received the agreement proposal – but at the same time rejected the offer as unsuitable.
What the GDL suggests to the railway
In addition to financial aspects, the collective bargaining dispute primarily revolves around the issue of reducing weekly working hours for shift workers. The GDL is now proposing a gradual transition to a 35-hour week between 2025 and 2028. At the same time, it offers that train drivers could continue to work 40 hours a week on a voluntary basis, with appropriate pay. The GDL also wants to introduce a five-day week followed by 48 hours of rest.
According to the GDL’s proposal, the inflation compensation should be 3,000 euros. The railway’s bid is 2,850 euros. When it comes to working hours, the group has so far offered an optional model that provides for a one-hour reduction without any financial losses. Anyone who decides against this will instead receive 2.7 percent more money. Union leader Claus Weselsky saw the offer as no basis for further negotiations.
Bahn immediately rejects the new offer
Overall, the GDL’s new offer is similar in many respects to agreements that the union recently reached with private railways, such as Go-Ahead.
However, Deutsche Bahn does not believe in the agreement proposal. A company spokesman told BR that evening that the GDL was not accommodating the company on a single point. He spoke of a “repetition of well-known maximum demands that cannot be implemented in this way”. At the same time, he emphasized: “We are ready to negotiate at any time and any place.”
Passenger transport strike starting Wednesday morning
The GDL had previously started its six-day freight transport strike. The GDL announced that the strike at the railway subsidiary DB Cargo started as planned at 6 p.m.
From Wednesday morning, the union wants to expand the industrial action to include passenger transport. The rail strike is expected to last until Monday evening at 6 p.m. The railway has published an emergency timetable.
The current mega-strike marks the fourth in the current round of collective bargaining, which started at the beginning of November. The union supported their demands with one-day warning strikes in November and December, followed by a three-day walkout in January.