Train drivers' union GDL has prematurely ended its multi-day strike in Deutsche Bahn passenger transport. A DB spokesperson announced this on Monday morning. Since the start of operations, the railway has wanted to return to normal schedules. “However, there will still be isolated restrictions on long-distance transport services throughout Monday,” he said. “There may also be different regional restrictions on regional traffic during Monday.”
Since the beginning of the passenger transport strike, on Wednesday morning, the railway has been working with emergency hours. In long-distance transport, around 20 percent of the usual supply was moving. With the emergency timetable, the railway also wanted to allow operations to begin as smoothly as possible after the strike. In freight transport, the strike ended on Sunday night.
In fact, the strike was supposed to last until 6pm on Monday night in both German passenger and freight transport. However, on Saturday night the railway and GDL agreed to an early closure and further negotiations from 5 February. These must be carried out behind closed doors. Both parties stated that the goal was to reach a collective bargaining agreement in early March. A peace obligation applies up to and including March 3rd – so strikes are currently not a problem.
During the next negotiations, models for reducing working hours will be discussed, among other issues. The railroad also agreed to talk about a flat rate increase. Until now, the federal company has always been in favor of percentage increases. Lump sums generally help lower income groups in particular and are therefore often preferred by trade unions for bargaining.
The payment of an inflation compensation bonus of 1,500 euros in March has already been firmly agreed. This payment is exempt from taxes and fees for employees, so the gross amount is equal to the net.
The collective bargaining conflict between the railways and GDL began in early November. The union entered into negotiations demanding three hours less work per week for shift workers with the same wages. I also wanted to get an additional 555 euros in wages for the twelve-month period of the collective agreement.
Deutsche Bahn's current offer offers 4.8% more money to employees from August and an additional 5% from April 2025. Under this offer, from January 2026, train drivers and attendants German train commuters will then be able to decide between an additional 2.7% pay rise or one hour less work per week.