German rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the GDL train drivers' union have announced the signing of a new collective agreement, marking the end of a dispute that gave rise to repeated strike action. Signed on Thursday 16 September, the lengthy 32-month agreement provides for a 3.3% pay rise in two stages, as well as the payment of two so-called “coronavirus bonuses”. The two parties also reached a compromise as regards the application of the collective agreement unity law (Tarifeinheitsgesetz), which was at the heart of the dispute.
Power struggle between two unions. This was not a classic wage dispute, but a dispute about the struggle for supremacy within DB between the two rail unions, the small GDL (38,000 members) and the majority EVG (190,000 members), as well as the collective agreement unity law. This highly controversial law, which was passed in 2015, clarifies the issue of union competition within the same company (see article n°9089). When a group of employees is represented by two competing unions, the collectiv
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