Indefinite strikes are on the cards in the collective bargaining dispute between Deutsche Bahn and EVG. There could also be deficits during the summer holidays. However, the union does not rule out a solution by arbitration.
Despite the announced ballot on unlimited strikes at Deutsche Bahn, the railway and transport union (EVG) is open to the option of settling the wage dispute through arbitration.
“We are ready to talk day and night. If the employer approaches us with a request for arbitration, we can make a decision quickly,” said the chairman of the EVG, Martin Burkert, in an interview with the Bavarian radio. It is possible to return to the negotiating table at any time.
On Wednesday, the union had declared the negotiations in the collective bargaining conflict that had been going on since February to have failed. A day later, the EVG board announced that it would prepare a ballot for the approximately 110,000 voting members at Deutsche Bahn on open-ended strikes.
“The strike fund is well stocked”
Burkert was well prepared for long-term strikes: “We had our last indefinite strike 31 years ago. The strike fund is well stocked.” In the case of indefinite strikes, those involved would have no right to wages or salaries, including unemployment benefits. Then the union would step in for the loss of earnings.
At the same time, Burkert emphasized that the EVG was by no means “crazy”. Deutsche Bahn had criticized the decision for the ballot as a “completely unnecessary escalation” and accused the union of throwing away an almost complete wage agreement.
According to the EVG, it will take four to five weeks to get a result from the ballot. 75 percent of all voters would have to vote for the indefinite strikes. However, renewed warning strikes on the railways are possible beforehand. Burkert did not rule out that these could also fall during the summer holidays.
Heil appeals to “insight and reason”
Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) said in Deutschlandfunk the hope that an agreement could still be reached. “I rely on insight and reason,” said the SPD politician. A compromise can “never be a dirty word” in a democracy.
The negotiations between EVG and Deutsche Bahn could be continued at any time – even during an indefinite strike. The union members would then have to decide again by ballot on a possible collective bargaining agreement. In this case, 25 percent of those entitled to vote would have to vote for the negotiated compromise.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) had called both parties to the conflict “once again urgently” to “be aware of their responsibility”. “”The challenges in the rail sector are immense and can only be mastered in solidarity with all collective bargaining partners,” he warned in the “Bild”. And he emphasized that many people in the summer holidays “are very consciously in favor of climate-friendly travel with the Bahn decided”. Therefore, their trust should not be jeopardized.
Tariff conflict has been going on for months
In order to increase the pressure on employers, the EVG had already called for warning strikes in March and April. In May, she had called for a walkout that was supposed to last around 50 hours. However, this was averted because the EVG and Bahn were able to agree on a mandatory comparison.
Since then, however, negotiations have failed to reach a compromise on a collective agreement. The EVG demands a wage increase of at least 650 euros per month or twelve percent for the upper wage groups. According to their ideas, the term should be one year. The union negotiates for around 230,000 employees at around 50 rail and bus companies, including around 180,000 at Deutsche Bahn.
The railway recently announced a high fixed amount, 2850 euros inflation compensation premium and far-reaching structural improvements. However, she did not give any details about these improvements. The group wants to set the term of the collective agreement at 27 months.
However, the TOE rejects this term as too long. She also criticized the offered wage increase as too low and too late. “People need more money from now on,” stressed Chairman Burkert.