Germany‘s main railway operator and a union representing many of its train drivers have reached a deal in a long dispute over working hours and pay that was marked by a string of strikes, the union said Monday.
Neither the GDL union nor state-owned railway operator Deutsche Bahn gave details of their agreement. Both scheduled separate statements on Tuesday.
GDL called drivers for Deutsche Bahn out on strike repeatedly in the dispute, which has dragged on for months.
It was the most consistently disruptive of several pay disputes in the transport sector that have coincided recently. Others have involved local transport workers, ground staff and cabin crew for Lufthansa, and airport security staff.
The main sticking point was GDL’s demand for working hours to be reduced from 38 to 35 hours per week without a pay cut. Some smaller private operators that operate regional services agreed to the demand.
Lufthansa’s plan to buy a 41 per cent stake in state-owned ITA for 325 million euros (USD 351 million) underscores sector consolidation alongside British Airways-owner IAG’s bid to buy out Spain’s Air Europa. The European Commission warned that the Lufthansa and ITA deal could leave users short-changed as it set out its concerns in a charge sheet known as a statement of objections.
It wasn’t immediately clear how GDL and Deutsche Bahn resolved that issue.
