Tariff dispute settled
Rail strike averted: GDL and railways reach an agreement
Rail customers can be happy that there is no longer any rail strike in sight
© Julian Stratenschulte / DPA
According to the train drivers’ union, GDL and Bahn have reached an agreement in their collective bargaining dispute. What the solution looks like will probably only be known on Tuesday.
Train travelers can breathe a sigh of relief. The Train drivers’ union GDL and Deutsche Bahn have reached an agreement in their month-long wage dispute and thus averted further strikes, as the GDL announced on Monday evening. After six industrial disputes in the current round of negotiations, a failed moderation and a dispute in court, there have recently been talks again.
The federally owned company wants to provide information this Tuesday about the status of negotiations with the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL), as the company announced on Monday evening. Details were not initially known. There will be no discussion of interim statuses on Monday, as both sides have agreed to keep the matter confidential. Both the railways and GDL boss Claus Weselsky had recently expressed confidence that an early solution to the conflict would be reached.
Compromise between railways and GDL unclear
What the compromise might look like remained unclear on Monday. The crux of the collective bargaining round from the start was the GDL’s demand for a reduction in weekly working hours for shift workers from 38 to 35 hours while keeping wages and salaries the same. At a previous round of talks, the railway was prepared to agree to 36 hours with full wage compensation in two steps until 2028. However, the union under its chairman Claus Weselsky rejected this.
More in a moment.