Background information

German Railway (Deutsche Bahn) and the sectoral trade union EVG (Eisenbahn- und Verkehrsgewerkschaft) reached a new collective agreement in September 2020, which is valid from March 2021 until the end of February 2023. EVG represents staff in German Rail administration, engine drivers and staff on trains. A second sectoral trade union for German railway, GDL (Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer), rejected the agreement and proposed a separate agreement for engine drivers und staff on trains.

Content of measure

The agreement includes a so called corona package in preparation of a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with renewed lockdowns and social distancing measures. This corona package concerns employees with dependent children or otherwise caring for family members, including parents. Employees may stay away from work for up to fifty days due to childcare duties, and for up to 20 days due to other care duties. Other parts of the agreement concern wages (pay rise of 1.5% from January 2022), job protection (no forced redundancies for the time of the agreement), and recruitment (at least 18,000 new recruitments each in 2021 and 2022, including over 4,000 apprentices each year).

Use of measure

No data.

Contents

• Income protection
• Leave arrangements
• Pay freezes or cuts
• Work organisation

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment	Sector specific set of companies	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
Social partners jointly	No special funding required

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Sectoral or branch level

Involvement

(1) The institutional setting for the German railway sector requests the involvement of employer and employee representatives. (2) The large sectoral employer Detusche Bahn was involved. The sectoral trade union EVG was involved. The sectoral trade union GDL was not involved. (3) Employees contribute by renouncing a pay rise until the year 2021. Employers contribute by refraining from forced redundancies for the duration of the CBA.

Views and reactions

The employer, Deutsche Bahn, and the trade union EVG welcome the agreement as an example of joint responsibility for the cost of the Covid-19 crisis. A second sectoral trade union for German railway, GDL (Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer), rejected the agreement and proposed a separate agreement for engine drivers und staff on trains

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 18 September 2020: Deutsche Bahn Press Release