Germany: 35-hour working week introduced for train drivers
The German train drivers' union GLD wins in its dispute with the German railways and gets what it wanted, at least from a theoretical point of view. The 35-hour week with full wage compensation is introduced, as union leader Claus Weselsky had always called for, and will now be introduced, albeit only after several steps in 2029.
For GDL shift workers working hours will initially decrease from 38 to 37 hours in 2026. By 2029 it will decrease in three further stages to 35 hours. The salary will not be reduced proportionately, DB human resources director Martin Seiler explained on Tuesday morning. Less work, more pay.
If desired, employees of GDL companies can work even longer hours. “Employees choose their actual working hours themselves,” says Seiler. Ultimately it is possible to do something between 35 and 40 hours a week.
Those who decide to work more should receive 2.7% more hourly wages. Train drivers or passengers, for example, would earn about 14% more in a 40-hour week than in a 35-hour week.
An inflation compensation bonus of 2,850 euros and salary increases of 420 euros in two stages were also agreed. Here too the DB could hardly make any concessions to the demands of the GDL, which had initially insisted on a monthly supplement of 555 euros and a tax- and duty-free inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros.
The strike wave that has lasted since November is now over, the railway says. The union peace will last at least until February 2026, and the strikes have cost Deutsche Bahn at least 200 million euros.
Deutsche Bahn takes precedence over the duration of the collective agreement
As regards the bargaining conditions, however, Deutsche Bahn essentially prevailed. The agreement will be valid for 26 months until 31 December 2025, after which there will be a two-month negotiation phase during which strikes will not be possible. The deadline for regulating working hours does not expire until 31 December 2028.
Furthermore, in the future, the modalities of arbitration should be agreed before the start of negotiations in case they cannot be concluded amicably. This creates “an orderly framework for the next round of tariffs,” the railroad explained.
Deutsche Bahn has accepted the train drivers' union GDL into the collective agreement on the key issue of working hours. The company announced on Tuesday that in the future it will be possible to choose working hours for shift staff.
Since November the union had repeatedly paralyzed rail traffic for days. In addition to hundreds of thousands of commuters, business travelers and tourists, industry has been affected. Freight trains were canceled for days.
We now need to see how these decisions, which bring some peace to the German trade union world, will be reflected in the cost of train tickets and the economic results of the railway company. Because, barring greater use of automation, someone will have to pay for the reduction in hours, and it will probably be the consumers with the most expensive tickets.
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The article Germany: 35-hour working week introduced for railway drivers comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/germania-introdotta-la-settimana-lavroativa-di-35-ore-per-i-macchinisti-ferroviari/ on Tue, 26 Mar 2024 14:30:38 +0000.