In the hardened wage round at the railways, millions of travelers are threatened with new strikes. “The option for strikes is of course on the table,” said the EVG rail union in Berlin on Wednesday. Concrete advice is now being given on this.
The collective bargaining affects a good 200,000 employees of various transport companies. Most of them work for Deutsche Bahn. There have already been two warning strikes in March and April, during which the EVG union paralyzed train services for millions of travelers for almost a day. A third warning strike, planned to last around 50 hours, was only stopped after a court settlement.
Several factors make agreeing on a new collective agreement particularly difficult this time. On the one hand, there is the high annual inflation of currently seven percent, which is decimating the real income of railway employees. That is why the EVG, like other unions, is pushing for strong wage increases, especially for employees with lower incomes. According to scientific studies, these people suffer particularly badly from the price wave because they spend a large proportion of their income on basic needs such as heating, electricity and food, which have become particularly expensive.
The EVG is therefore demanding twelve percent more wages for one year, but at least an increase of 650 euros. This minimum amount would give around 20,000 low-income earners a salary increase of around 25 percent. The last offer from the railways granted the lower wage groups twelve percent more salary in addition to an inflation premium of almost 3000 euros, but spread over two years. There is a big difference to the demands of the union.
This is a central reason why the EVG completely rejects the rail offer. Negotiator Kristian Loroch calls it “unacceptable”. The planned percentage scale puts the lower wage groups at a disadvantage, for which the aim is to get significantly more out this time. It was discussed with the railways how a minimum amount could be reflected in the collective bargaining agreement. Unfortunately, this is not reflected in the offer.
It will be clear to the railway management that the special surcharge for low earners is particularly important to the union. Nevertheless, it differentiates its offer between the individual income groups less than the EVG would like: while low earners should receive twelve percent more salary, ten percent are intended for medium-paid employees and eight percent for higher-paid employees. Everyone gets the inflation premium. A minimum amount, as demanded by the union, changes the salary structure, according to Deutsche Bahn. But he is not excluded.
The union is delaying an agreement because they are again insisting on a completely new offer instead of negotiating closer. “Deutsche Bahn must finally make an offer that responds to our demand. Only then are effective negotiations possible,” says negotiator Loroch. The union had previously postponed negotiations until the company met preconditions such as wage premiums for minimum wage earners.
“Even after five rounds of negotiations, the EVG does not move a single millimeter from its original request,” criticizes Bahn HR Director Martin Seiler. “Negotiations don’t make sense at the moment.” The group wanted a break to discuss the situation in its committees. The current wage offer is more than generous and would cost the group 1.4 billion euros a year. Implementing the EVG’s demand costs 2.5 billion euros a year. The railway should invest a lot. A wage agreement that is too high could increase the debt. What is needed is a clear signal from the EVG that it is willing to make compromises. If this comes, the railways are of course immediately ready to negotiate.