At 50 hours, the third warning strike would be the longest in the current wage dispute.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin In the collective bargaining conflict with the railway and transport union (EVG), Deutsche Bahn has described the minimum wage requirements as having been met and is demanding that the strike be abandoned. “The EVG must now keep its promise and cancel the 50-hour warning strike,” said DB HR Director Martin Seiler late Thursday evening.
EVG negotiator Kristian Loroch immediately contradicted: “We brought the railways to talks. But when the key to the solution was already on the table, she backed down,” Loroch told Reuters. “But there is still a chance that the train will return to the solution path on Friday.”
The union had announced a 50-hour strike. The previous commitments to set the minimum wage of twelve euros in the pay tables were not enough for the union.
According to Loroch, however, talks had already come a long way on Thursday. For example, wage increases should be based on tariffs of around 13 euros and then be permanently anchored. But then the employers decided not to take the final steps after all.
The union had announced a nationwide strike on Thursday morning, which is to paralyze practically all rail traffic from 10 p.m. Sunday evening to midnight on Tuesday night. The third warning strike in the bargaining round would also be the longest. The union negotiates for around 230,000 employees at around 50 train and bus companies and insists on twelve percent more wages, but at least 650 euros more per month.
The chairman of the Union of German Locomotive Drivers (GDL), Claus Weselsky, considers it unnecessary for Deutsche Bahn to stop long-distance traffic because of a warning strike by the EVG. “The EVG is not so well organized at the network subsidiary DB Netz that Deutsche Bahn would be forced to stop rail traffic,” Weselsky told the news portal “The Pioneer”. “With a certain amount of effort, Deutsche Bahn could maintain network operations and many ICE trains could continue to run.” Weselsky said the board was acting irresponsibly and without ambition.
From Weselsky’s point of view, the EVG has no interest in a quick solution to the tariff dispute because it fears “that we (GDL) will negotiate better tariff conditions for our members with Deutsche Bahn”. Weselsky continued: “I am sure that there will be no conclusion before we have made our demands.”
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