Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – The state-owned Südwestdeutsche Landesverkehrs-GmbH (SWEG) does not want to take over the former Abellio Rail Baden-Württemberg permanently as things stand at present. The supervisory board is currently speaking out against submitting an offer for the upcoming tender for the former Abellio routes, SWEG announced on Monday in the midst of a collective bargaining dispute with the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL). This would mean a change of ownership by the end of 2023 at the latest. A final decision is expected in mid-October.
The Abellio daughter got into financial difficulties at the end of 2021. The company then took over the state-owned SWEG for an initial period of two years. It currently operates under the name SWEG Bahn Stuttgart GmbH (SBS).
The ongoing collective bargaining conflict is about the fact that the GDL would like to negotiate a collective agreement not only for SBS, but for the entire SWEG group with 1800 employees. SWEG categorically rejects this. The GDL had already twice called for warning strikes and most recently announced that it wanted to initiate a ballot in order to expand the industrial action.
