Germany’s GDL train drivers’ union will call off its industrial action earlier than planned as negotiations with rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DBN.UL) resume, both sides informed on Saturday. German train drivers will end their strike early.
The strike, which was scheduled to last until Monday evening and was the fourth and longest round of industrial action in a month-long dispute over pay and working hours, began at 2 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Wednesday.
However, the union stated that it will now end the strike in passenger transport at 2 a.m. on Monday and the strike in freight transport at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT).
To cope with the impact of inflation, transport workers across Europe have staged strikes to demand higher wages.
“Negotiations have resumed their normal course. Martin Seiler, the director of human resources for Deutsche Bahn, stated in a statement, “Our employees have the possibility of early pay rises and our customers have planning security.”
The fact that negotiations have resumed and the strike can be brought to an early end has been praised by Transport Minister Volker Wissing. There will be no strikes until at least March 3, and both parties have agreed to negotiate privately over the next five weeks. They added that the parties will keep the talks private and will not make any public announcements until they are finished.
Seiler went on to say that “all the issues were discussed in a constructive atmosphere and molded into a roadmap for the final negotiations.” A reduction in working hours from the current 38 to 35 hours per week while maintaining full pay for employees is one of GDL’s primary demands.
Despite industry analysts’ warnings about a shortage of skilled labor, Deutsche Bahn had rejected this as being too expensive and stated that it would need to hire ten percent more workers to fill the void. Claus Weselsky, the leader of the GDL, stated, “DB’s willingness to negotiate a reduction in working hours for shift workers is of central importance.” DB’s Seiler did not specify whether the objective was a 35-hour week at a press conference: We have agreed to talk about models for reducing work hours.
Additionally, GDL intends to grow and develop DB’s division of vehicle maintenance. Seiler stated, “We will openly negotiate the current collective labor agreement for so-called company-related maintenance.”
