(Reuters circulated the following by Iain Rogers on January 9.)
BERLIN — Germany’s GDL train drivers’ union and rail operator Deutsche Bahn have reached a preliminary agreement under which the drivers will get their own wage contract, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.
A separate contract was one of the union’s key demands in a dispute with Deutsche Bahn over pay and conditions stretching back to March, which has led to a series of crippling strikes on freight and passenger services.
The Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper reported that Germany’s 34,000 train drivers would be able to negotiate their own contract with management based on a general contract for Deutsche Bahn’s 195,000 other workers.
Neither Deutsche Bahn or the GDL would confirm the accord, the paper said.
On Tuesday, union officials said there was still disagreement on the level of wages and working hours but they were hopeful a final agreement with Deutsche Bahn could be sealed on Thursday.