German rail union says it's ready to take long-running pay dispute to arbitration

BERLIN — A German rail workers' union said Thursday that it's prepared to take a long-running pay dispute with the main national railway operator to arbitration, which should head off strikes during the summer vacation period.

Talks between the EVG union and state-owned railway operator Deutsche Bahn broke down last week. The union — which has already staged hours-long or one-day “warning strikes," a common tactic in German negotiations — then announced a ballot on open-ended strike action.

That announcement came as schools closed for summer in parts of Germany. On Wednesday, Deutsche Bahn proposed bringing in outside mediators in hopes of resolving the dispute without further strikes during the summer.

EVG said it will discuss an arbitration process with Deutsche Bahn. “We have an eye particularly on travelers, who we don't really want to hit with strikes during the vacation period,” the union's chief negotiator, Kristian Loroch, said in a statement.

The union signaled that it will refrain from strikes during the vacation period if it and Deutsche Bahn agree on arbitration.

However, it said that it would move ahead with holding the strike ballot to give members the opportunity to decide whether to accept mediators' proposal or step up their walkouts.

EVG has called for a pay increase of 12% and for a salary agreement to remain valid for 12 months rather than Deutsche Bahn’s proposed 27 months. It says that Deutsche Bahn is offering too little, too late.

The past few months have seen plenty of tense salary negotiations in Europe’s biggest economy as inflation remains high, currently above 6%.

In April, government officials and labor unions reached a pay deal for more than 2.5 million public-sector workers, ending a lengthy dispute after arbitrators were called in to propose a compromise.

During the rail dispute, Deutsche Bahn has accused EVG of trying to score points in a bitter, long-held rivalry with the other main railway workers’ union. The rival and traditionally more aggressive union, GDL, is due to start negotiations for its members later this year.