No strike, but negotiations, for now. Starting tomorrow, the next round of negotiations between the Railway and Transport Union (EVG) and Deutsche Bahn on higher wages for the approximately 180,000 railroad workers will take place. A small obulus for only about 2,000 railroad workers by means of a settlement led to the cancellation of the 50-hour warning strike planned for last week by the EVG.
However, the union's demands are rather low. 10% wage increase with about 20 to 30% price increases for basic needs. In addition, the burdens of inflation are to be made forgettable by one-off premium payments. The relatively long duration of the collective agreement of 27 months is intended to provide security, especially for the bosses.
The EVG is under pressure; too much concession to the DB would certainly benefit the GdL, the second, smaller union of railroad workers, in competition with the EVG. Their wage dispute with Deutsche Bahn begins in autumn.
Premium or one-time payments have become a favorite tool of the bosses and the yellow unions. Relatively large amounts of money all at once, on top of wages, alleviates daily worries and hardships for a brief moment. This is exactly the problem. Once the money is spent, inflation remains.
In addition, large groups keep falling behind. New hired or part-time employees usually gain little or nothing from such agreements. The collective agreement negotiated in April for federal and municipal employees provides for such a special payment in 2023 instead of a real pay increase. Not until the beginning of 2024 is there to be a meager 5% more. Workers at the municipal Klinikum-Nürnberg-Service-GmbH, which after years of struggling against the spin-off are to be reintegrated into the hospital in 2021 and the TVÖD will be applied from January 1, 2024. This is just one example of many. This is also why one third of ver.di members voted against the new collective agreement.
