German rail passengers face the prospect of more travel disruption, potentially including unlimited strikes, after wage talks between Deutsche Bahn AG and the EVG labor union broke down late Wednesday.
The union, which represents about 180,000 employees at the state rail company, said that the 27-month length of the deal on the table is “clearly too long” and the wage increase being offered “too low and too late.” It has asked for a 12% pay hike with a 12-month duration.
EVG Chairman Martin Burkert said after a meeting Thursday of the union’s management board that it’s making preparations for a membership ballot on further industrial action.
“Unlimited strikes will become possible as a result,” Burkert said in a statement on the union’s website.
“We are still willing to negotiate,” he added. “In order to reach a deal, Deutsche Bahn must go the extra mile. We are not asking for anything impossible.”
Industrial action has gained momentum in Germany and other European nations in recent months, with labor officials pushing for significant wage deals to offset a surge in living costs triggered by Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Martin Seiler, a member of the Deutsche Bahn management board, called EVG’s move to break off the talks “unbelievable.” He accused the union of discarding “an almost-completed agreement” and setting the talks “back to zero shortly before the finish.”
“The ones who suffer are our employees and our passengers,” Seiler said in an emailed statement. “We negotiated intensively, wrestled hard and reached many partial agreements,” he added. “Now it’s all off the table again.”
The company urged EVG negotiators to “reach a good solution quickly” and said it “remains willing to talk and negotiate.”
(Updates with outcome of union board meeting starting in first paragraph)
