Germany appoints mediator to avoid repeat of 2007 rail strike

12 November 2010 16:49  [Source: ICIS news]

TORONTO (ICIS)--Two major German rail unions have agreed with rail carrier Deutsche Bahn and six private carriers to appoint former defence minister Peter Struck as mediator to find a settlement and avoid a strike, they said on Friday.

In 2007, a rail strike hit chemical railcar shipments in Europe’s largest economy, and strike actions last month disrupted passenger rail services in large parts of the country.

Struck, a member of the opposition Social Democrats, would seek to mediate a deal by the end of the year, and until then there would be no further strikes, officials said.

The unions, GDBA and Transnet, were calling for an industry-wide collective wage deal that would cover both Deutsche Bahn and the private carriers, thus guaranteeing equal wages for all workers.

However, Germany’s train drivers union GDL would not take part in the mediation. GDL, which led the 2007 strike, was seeking a separate deal for its 20,000 members.

Commentators have warned that Germany's collective bargaining process would become more fragmented after the country’s top labour court earlier this year said it would no longer abide by an important principle – "Tarifeinheit" – that ensured there was only one collective agreement per plant.

The court’s ruling had opened the door to separate collective bargaining for various groups of workers - such as train drivers, air traffic controllers and doctors - within one plant or facility, thus raising the spectre of many more strikes.

Germany’s chemical employers and chemical union IG BCE planned to appeal to the government and to lawmakers to effectively overturn the court’s ruling by enshrining “Tarifeinheit” in law.

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