According to information from Reuters, the train drivers' union GDL and Deutsche Bahn have surprisingly resolved their deadlocked collective bargaining dispute and reached an agreement.
The states of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein were also the last to act as intermediaries.
Bahn personnel director Martin Seiler and GDL boss Claus Weselsky want to announce details at a press conference on Thursday morning.
The minister-presidents of the federal states, above all the minister-presidents of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, Stephan Weil (SPD) and Daniel Günther (CDU), also mediated the dispute. The Prime Minister of Thuringia and former arbitrator at the railway Bodo Ramelow had already indicated an agreement on Twitter in advance.
The railway had met the train drivers on the weekend and had promised an additional remuneration component. The GDL recently demanded 3.2 percent more wages for a term of the collective agreement of 28 months and a corona premium of 600 euros. The railway, on the other hand, had offered a corona premium of 400 to 600 euros, depending on the wage group. Furthermore, the tariff increase should be extended over 36 months. This means that further strikes are off the table for the time being. Last week, the union threatened to start preparing for the next labor dispute earlier this week if corporate management did not submit an improved offer by then.