In the collective bargaining dispute between Deutsche Bahn and the train drivers' union GDL, the DB has renewed its offer. Negotiations will continue on Monday.
Deutsche Bahn (DB) has renewed its offer to the train drivers' union GDL to resume collective bargaining this Monday. Offers and solutions could be submitted and discussed directly at the negotiating table, the railway announced on Sunday afternoon. The company did not respond to GDL's request to submit an improved offer by 6 p.m. on Sunday before the discussion began.
“We are convinced that we will only be able to reach an agreement through dialogue at the negotiating table,” said DB Human Resources Director Martin Seiler, according to the statement. Switching to a written exchange of offers and answers at this very advanced stage of the negotiations would not be productive. Alternatively, DB is also prepared to enter into formal arbitration.
Arbitration would mean using one or two people as neutral third parties to reach a collective bargaining agreement. Unlike the moderators already in place, arbitrators shape the negotiation process according to the process and content. In addition, at the end of an arbitration there is an arbitrator's decision if the collective bargaining parties have not been able to reach an amicable agreement.
Lange: “Arguers carry out personal feuds”
In the deadlocked collective bargaining dispute between Deutsche Bahn and the train drivers' union GDL, the Union has spoken out in favor of replacing the negotiators. “Mr. Seiler and Weselsky have become so entangled that they have to clear the way for new negotiators in the collective bargaining dispute,” said the deputy leader of the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Ulrich Lange (CSU), to “Bild am Sonntag”. The “tariff theater” at the company must end.
“Here, two people who are fighting are apparently also having a personal feud and the railway customers have to bear it out,” added Lange, referring to GDL chairman Claus Weselsky and railway personnel director Martin Seiler.
The GDL has already gone on strike five times in the current collective bargaining round, and the fifth strike lasting 35 hours only ended on Friday afternoon. A round of negotiations had failed last week. In this, two moderators – Schleswig-Holstein's Prime Minister Daniel Günther and the former Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière (both CDU) – presented both sides with a proposal on the basis of which further negotiations could take place.
