Rail collective bargaining agreement: Still in the clutches of the union

Politicians are always on board in Deutsche Bahn's collective bargaining rounds.

The interests of customers, taxpayers and the indebted state company often fall by the wayside.

This time too: In order to have some peace before the election, a grand coalition - Prime Ministers of the Union, SPD, Left - took the side of the striking train drivers.

The result is, at least financially, a feel-good contract that makes the splinter union GDL and its boss Weselsky cheer.

The wage settlement is higher than required and also protects the expensive company pensions.

With both points, the small GDL of the larger rival union EVG turns a long nose. In the previous year, in view of the pandemic, she had agreed to a restructuring collective agreement that was worse for the employees in order to relieve the group. Now, however, he wants to retrospectively equate the companies dominated by the EVG for the sake of industrial peace. This shows the destructive power of the power struggle between the two unions, which is at the expense of the company.

The deal only postpones the conflict over supremacy in the railway company. The GDL has cut back and recognized that its contract does not apply to infrastructure workers because it is not strong enough in these parts of the company. In two years' time, Weselsky wants to make a new attempt to conclude wage agreements for them too. The competition between the unions is fueled by the collective bargaining law. According to this, since 2015 employers in companies with several unions only have to recognize the contract of the largest. The fact that the railway is initially “voluntarily” making the collective agreement of the smaller GDL the benchmark for everyone promotes Weselsky's reputation among the workforce. However, it does not offer the GDL a guarantee of existence - and dupes the EVG, which now needs to be explained to its members and could take a tougher course.

The unified collective bargaining law proves to be unsuitable for loosening the railway from the union's clutches. The new government must find an answer to this that protects corporations, taxpayers and customers.