Risk of more strikes despite German rail deal

The German Rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, has agreed a new wage deal with two major unions. But a separate, train drivers, union is still threatening to strike tomorrow. The head of Deutsche Bahn, Hartmut Mehdorn, gave the green light to a four and a half percent pay rise, plus a one-off bonus of 600 euros per employee, starting from January 2008. “We have finally agreed to such a high pay rise because we want to recognise the hard work of our employees in the restructuring of Deutsche Bahn,” said Mehdorn.

134,000 workers agreed to the deal, even though they had originally demanded a seven percent rise. They have now called off their wildcat strikes begun last week. But the train drivers are still demanding a 31 per cent increase and say they will stop work during tomorrow morning’s rush hour.

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