Deutsche Bahn employees have left the first round of pay negotiations without success, meaning industrial action could soon be on the cards for the giant of German transportation.

Deutsche Bahn workers begin pay negotiations

Represented by the EVG trade union, staff at Deutsche Bahn have just entered negotiations with their employer. Employees are asking for a 650 euro increase in pay per month, which would amount to an average pay rise of 12 percent. For junior staff, the union is asking for a monthly pay rise of 325 euros.

In Hesse on Tuesday, Deutsche Bahn Director Martin Seiler arrived at negotiations with the EVG without a written offer to give the 180.000 employees demanding higher wages. “Obviously the company has no interest at all in reaching a deal at the negotiating table, instead it is deliberately provoking industrial action,” EVG negotiator Kristian Loroch said in an online press conference.

From Seiler’s perspective, the EVG demands need to be discussed in much further detail. “The EVG has demanded that we present an offer without discussing the content - and from our point of view that is not possible at the moment.”

EVG wants to avoid Deutsche Bahn strikes

A date in April has now been set for a second round of negotiations, but Loroch made it known that the EVG is willing to meet again sooner to avoid grinding trains to a halt with a Warnstreik (warning strike).

The trade unionist explained that although he wants to avoid using passengers as “pawns” in pay disputes, if the second round of negotiations is also unsuccessful, a strike would be on the cards - not just for Deutsche Bahn employees, but for workers at the 50 other companies that the union represents.

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