GDL and DB reach collective agreement
After five months of dialogue, the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn reached a collective agreement in Berlin on March 26, 2024. The agreement will be retroactively implemented from 1 November 2023 and will last until 31 December 2025. The GDL was also able to fend off all counterclaims from DB.
After this contract concludes in December 2025, there will be a two-month negotiation period until February 2026, during which strikes will be prohibited. Additionally, arbitration methods, including the implementation of moderators, will be determined before the commencement of negotiations.
Key agreements
Firstly, there will be a monthly salary increase, with a fixed raise of 210 euros slated to take effect from August 1, 2024, followed by an additional increase of 210 euros in April 2025. This increase applies across the general monthly salary tables. Furthermore, allowances for apprentices and students will see a half increase at the same time as the salary adjustments.
Dynamic allowances will also be increased by four per cent each, starting from August 1, 2024, and April 1, 2025. Additionally, an inflation compensation premium (IAP) will be granted, amounting to 2,850 euros (proportionally for part-time workers) and 1,425 euros for apprentices and dual students.
A transition to a five-day week will be implemented, along with a limitation of work phases to a maximum of 120 hours, starting January 1, 2025. Moreover, there will be a gradual reduction of the respective relevant reference working time by three hours for shift workers from 2026 to 2029, without a proportional pay cut.
The agreement also includes a subsidy of 12.25 euros per month for the Germany Ticket. Furthermore, there will be no expansion of the scope of GDL collective agreements to InfraGO AG and RegioNetz Infrastruktur GmbH.
Regarding special part-time arrangements in old age, it will continue to be extended starting at the age of 59, with the target working hours set at 1,607 hours. The access age will remain at 59 years in 2024 and will gradually increase by half a year per year until 2030.
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