The Easter truce is over, the social partners are preparing to return to the negotiating table. To tip the scales on their side, the unions are showing their muscles and organizing new warning strikes. “Not a single train will run in this Republic,” announced the railway workers’ union EVG, launching its strike slogan for Friday, April 21: from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m., rail traffic was paralyzed throughout Germany. Buses were also affected.
According to the EVG, 25,500 employees have walked out across Germany. If the circulation of commuter trains and regional trains resumed normally at the end of the morning, that of long-distance trains remained disrupted all day, while the system restarted. Disturbances are expected to continue into the evening.
The EVG wanted to hit hard by choosing a Friday, a busy day on the eve of the weekend. A handicap for commuters who had trouble getting to work this morning. But thanks to the pandemic, however, many employees are now used to staying at home to work from home. Chaos was thus avoided.
This is the second time since the start of wage negotiations that a one-day strike has been organised. The first paralyzed Germany on March 27. EVG and Ver.di had joined forces to make the management of Deutsche Bahn, the German SNCF, and airports flinch. Wage negotiations for the transport branch began at the end of February. The EVG negotiates on behalf of 230,000 employees, 180,000 of whom work for Deutsche Bahn.
But talks with the groups concerned stalled from the start. The first meeting was interrupted after only two hours. The EVG demands that Deutsche Bahn finally puts on the table suitable proposals to serve as a basis for negotiations. At a minimum: a salary increase of at least 650 euros per month, or 12%, and this over a period of twelve months. “We want a short duration, explained the deputy spokesperson of the EVG Cosima Ingenschay during a meeting, because we find ourselves in unstable times. Our demands are high because we need them, otherwise our employees will go to work elsewhere, transport will be disrupted and we will not be able to achieve the transition in the field of transport to protect the climate. She considers the proposal of the mediation commission: a 5% increase in wages for a period of 27 months totally insufficient.
The next negotiations between EVG and Deutsche Bahn will take place next Tuesday in the small town of Fulda. But the EVG categorically refuses the proposals of the mediators as a basis for negotiation. “We must increase the pressure on employers who believe they can ignore the demands of their employees and who conduct negotiations with the manners of great lords. This is unacceptable,” retort SEV representatives. Response from Deutsche Bahn’s Chief of Personnel: “The Stag Party has completely lost all sense of proportion and is banking on rowdiness. The tone is set and promises tight negotiations. It has been a while since Germany has seen such a harsh social movement.
