{"id":171124,"date":"2025-01-29T23:49:45","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T13:49:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=59395"},"modified":"2025-01-29T23:49:45","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T13:49:45","slug":"deutsche-bahn-and-evg-start-negotiations-first-offer-deemed-too-little","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=171124","title":{"rendered":"Deutsche Bahn and EVG start negotiations, first offer deemed \u201ctoo little\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deutsche Bahn (DB) and trade union EVG are once again negotiating for a new collective bargaining agreement. EVG claimed that DB\u2019s first offer \u201cis clearly too little\u201d, and the situation is even worse when adding DB Cargo to the equation.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>DB is offering a 4 per cent raise in two steps for all workers, 2 per cent in October 2025 and 2 more in October 2026. Moreover, they proposed a 2.6 per cent additional increase to shift workers from 2027. The duration of the new collective bargaining agreement drafted by DB would be 37 months, until April 2028.<\/p>\n

EVG welcomed the fact that DB already submitted an offer in the first round of negotiations, but claimed that the 4 per cent wage increase proposed is not enough. Moreover, the trade union criticised the fact that the \u201csupplementary allowance comes too late and applies to too few people\u201d, as EVG co-negotiator Cosima Ingenschay put it.<\/p>\n

The DB Cargo complication<\/h2>\n

The situation gets a little more complicated when it comes to DB Cargo, which is undergoing a massive restructuring which will see 5,000 jobs cut by 2029. DB mentioned that they are considering the \u201cpossibility to deviate from collective bargaining agreements at DB Cargo, insofar as this is necessary to comply with the restructuring plan\u201d. However, this \u201cunilateral special right of termination on the part of the employer\u201d, as EVG phrased it, will likely cause some friction between the union and DB, with the former stating that it \u201cis out of the question\u201d.<\/p>\n