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Local Germany
08-04-2025
- Business
- Local Germany
Have we seen the last of the major strikes in Germany this year?
Industrial disputes can be like buses: you might not see one for a very long time, and then several turn up at once. That's exactly what happened in Germany this year. Back in January, a number of collective agreements expired, so trade unions like Verdi had to simultaneously negotiate a set of new contracts in the public sector. In the postal service, on Berlin public transport, in regional media outlets and in the wider public sector, workers all faced uncertainty about their future pay and conditions. For residents, this meant uncertainty about whether the buses would run, whether Kitas would open, and whether rubbish would start piling up in the Hinterhof . Luckily, two major conflicts that had dragged on for months ended amicably this week: on Sunday, a deal was reached for 2.6 million workers in the public sector, and on Monday, for the 16,600 employees of Berlin transport operator BVG . Here's a look the latest deals and the prospect of future strikes in Germany. Public sector employees The biggest deal negotiated this year concerned millions of local and federal government employees. As well as those in administrative offices, this includes workers in daycare centres, care homes, hospitals, schools, leisure centres and on local public transport, as well as in services like waste and sewage disposal. After an intense battle lasting more than two months, civil servants' union DBB and services union Verdi struck a deal with the government based on the recommendations of an arbitration committee. Advertisement The deal included a 5.8 percent pay rise over two years and increased bonuses for shift work, as well as either an increased Christmas bonus or three extra days of holiday per year. READ ALSO: Five things to know about Germany's public sector pay deal With the new contract running for 27 months from January 2025, we can now look forward to around two full years of calm: the next set of negotiations won't begin until March 2027. That said, there are a few workers - including state-employed teachers - who aren't covered by the agreement. This group are due to negotiate their next set of wage increases in autumn. Public sector strikes in Hamburg on February 13th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Marcus Brandt Local transport in Berlin It took several rounds of negotiations and five sets of warning strikes, but Verdi scored a coup in its BVG negotiations. On Monday, the union and transport operator announced that they had reached a new pay deal, with BVG workers set to get an average of 15 percent more pay over two years. As well as €430 extra pay per month by June next year, the transport employees will also see a steep rise in bonus for shift work and their end-of-year bonus. By 2027, the two sides are also tasked with putting together proposals for a 35-hour working week. Advertisement With Berliners previously staring down the barrel of unlimited strikes, the deal is welcome news for commuters. The two-year term runs until December 31st, 2026, giving residents of the capital around 21 months of respite. READ ALSO: Berlin averts unlimited transport strikes as BVG cuts deal with union Deutsche Bahn Remember the Deutsche Bahn negotiations a few months back? No, us neither. That's probably because the rail operator reached a deal with union EVG within record time, and without a single warning strike. Back in February, the two sides struck an agreement for 6.5 percent more pay for some 192,000 rail workers employed by DB and its subsidiaries. Starting in April with a €200 one-off payment, employees are set to get a two-percent pay rise in June, followed by 2.5 percent the following year and a further 2 percent the year after. Rail passengers walk or wait at the main train station in Frankfurt am Main, Germany on March 12th, 2024, during a strike called by GDL train drivers' union. Photo: Kirill Kudrayavtsev / AFP This contract covers an unusually long time span of 33 months, meaning EVG won't be able to reopen negotiations until 2028. However, the train drivers' union GDL - known to be a far harder nut to crack - will be reopening talks on their collective agreement next year. A so-called peace obligation is in place until February 2026, meaning there's a guaranteed hiatus on strikes until then. After that, don't be surprised if you start to see the words " Warnstreik! " (warning strike) and " Zug fällt aus " (train cancelled) a lot more at train stations around Germany. READ ALSO: Deutsche Bahn pays out compensation to millions of rail passengers in Germany Postal service At the start of the year, Verdi was tasked with thrashing out a deal on behalf of around 170,000 postal and parcel delivery workers in Germany. Upping the pressure on DHL and Deutsche Post, the union called a series of warning strikes in January and February, leading to delays and disruption in mail delivery. READ ALSO: German postal service to cut 8,000 jobs At the start of March, however, the two sides announced that they had reached a deal for a five percent pay increase for workers and an extra day of holiday per year. This agreement runs until 2027, when a new set of negotiations - and possible strikes - will begin. Advertisement What conflicts are still ongoing? While most of the major industrial disputes appear to be out of the way for now, there is one ongoing battle that could affect life in Germany. Metalworkers' union IG Metall - the largest in Germany - is currently fighting on behalf of workers in the automotive industry. As part of its push a 6.5 percent pay rise, the union has called strikes at car dealerships and garages this week. From Tuesday through Thursday, it may be hard for motorists to find a spot for maintenance or repairs of their vehicle. Though the IG Metall dispute seems relatively small next to the BVG and public sector talks, it could well turn into a bitter conflict. Car owners could well be advised to sort out their maintenance check-ups quickly when garages reopen, because the next strike could come around sooner than you think.
Local Germany
08-04-2025
- Business
- Local Germany
Berlin averts unlimited transport strikes as BVG cuts deal with union
It was a long and gruelling fight, but it paid off - at least for the union. On Monday, BVG and services union Verdi announced that they had reached an agreement in a months-long fight over pay and conditions for transport workers in the capital. As a result, some 16,600 BVG employees are set to net an average 15 percent pay rise over the next few years. Drivers, meanwhile, are set to get 20 percent. In concrete terms, this equates to a €430 pay rise per month, with €380 extra from June this year, and an extra €50 per month a year later. The new contract runs from January 1st, 2025, to December 31st, 2026, with the first five months covered by a one-off bonus of €1,500. Christmas bonuses and bonuses for shift work are set to go up, and workers will be able to increase their hours from 37.5 to 39 per week in order to net higher earnings. READ ALSO: Where Berliners are facing travel disruptions this spring Both sides will also be tasked with agreeing the terms for a 35-hour week by 2027 at the latest. The result will see BVG workers soar up the rankings from the worst to the best-paid transport workers in the country. Currently, employees in the capital earn the least of all the German federal states. From 2026, however, they will stand in joint first place with Baden-Württemberg. Advertisement 'A good day' Monday's agreement brings to an end a conflict that had the capital teetering on the edge of weeks of transport chaos. Though the deal must still be put to Verdi members, it looks certain that Berlin will avoid further strikes on its public transport network until 2027. After four rounds of talks and five warning strikes, BVG and Verdi had agreed in late March to enlist the help of two third-party mediators to help them reach a conclusion. SPD politician Matthias Platzeck was chosen to represent the transport company, and Left Party politician Bodo Ramelow was picked to negotiate for the union. BVG workers vote in a Verdi ballot on unlimited strikes held in the capital on March 26th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Ukas The duo, which successfully thrashed out a deal for Deutsche Bahn workers back in 2017, presented their recommendations to the two parties on Monday. READ ALSO: Five things to know about Germany's public sector pay deal The pressure to reach an agreement was high: on April 4th, 95 percent of Verdi members had voted to allow unlimited strikes if the mediation failed. Speaking in a hastily announced press conference on Monday night, Verdi chief negotiator Jeremy Arndt applauded the outcome of negotiations. "We have achieved the maximum for employees," he said. The union had originally demanded at least €750 extra per month for transport workers . Advertisement BVG, meanwhile, came much closer to the union than originally expected, exceeding its previously set pain threshold. At the press conference on Monday, however, chief negotiator Jenny Zeller-Grothe struck a positive note, stating: "Today is a good day." According to Zeller-Grothe, the transport operator will attempt to cover the extra €140 million in costs with as little effect as possible on consumers. With no additional funding yet promised by the Senate, it is unclear how they plan to do so.
Local Germany
28-03-2025
- Automotive
- Local Germany
REVEALED: Where SUVs are most - and least
Cars are getting bigger in Germany, as they are also across Europe and in the US and pretty much everywhere. Sometimes referred to as "car bloat" or "autobesity", the average size of passenger vehicles has grown as the popularity of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) has grown. The average new car weighs 1,632 kilograms, according to a recent report by Der Spiegel , which is almost a fifth more than 20 years ago. This is largely due to the fact that the market share of SUVs has increased significantly. Around 40 percent of new German cars on the market are SUVs today. But monster-sized cars are not popular everywhere. In fact, their large size seems to be the primary limiting factor that has kept them (mostly) out of many German cities. Here's a look at where in Germany you'll find mores SUVs, and where you'll find far less. Where are the most SUV drivers found in Germany? A study by the comparison portal Verivox, which analysed more than 400,000 car insurance policies, has revealed where in Germany the majority of SUVs are registered. According to the analysis, the strongest SUV hotspots are the towns of Suhl and Sonneberg in southern Thuringia, some southern Bavarian districts, and districts in the northeast. On the state level, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has the highest SUV quota overall at 19 percent, followed by Brandenburg, Thuringia and then Saxony-Anhalt - all of which were formerly part of East Germany. The cities with the highest rates of SUV ownership were: Bottrop, Ingolstadt, Munich, Wiesbaden, Jena, Bergisch Gladbach, Remscheid, Lübeck, Krefeld and Paderborn. Advertisement Where are fewer SUVs found? The strongest correlation to be found, according to a report by Der Spiegel , was that the share of SUVs tends to be lower in most of Germany's major cities - about 11 percent lower than the national average. Even cities in the aforementioned eastern states, like Dresden, Leipzig or Potsdam, had rates of SUV ownership closer to cities in western states. Verivox found that the ten cities with the lowest rate of SUV drivers were: Minster, Acquire, Salzgitter, Osnabrück, Dresden, Bremerhaven, Gelsenkirchen, Kassel, Braunschweig, and Aachen. The major city states of Bremen, Hamburg and Berlin all have rates of SUV ownership well below the national average as well. Why are SUVs less popular with urban drivers? It would appear that dense urban areas, with limited parking spaces and higher traffic, naturally make larger cars less appealing. "In cities, drivers often don't do themselves any favours with a large traffic is denser and the risk of accidents is increased," Wolfgang Schütz, Managing Director of Verivox told Der Spiegel . Cars sit in traffic on Unter den Linden in Berlin during a two-day BVG strike. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sebastian Gollnow Especially for cities that already lack parking spaces, or which have many narrow roads, SUVs can pose a number of logistical problems. For these reasons a handful of German cities - such as Koblenz, Cologne and Tübingen - have enacted higher municipal parking fees for SUV owners. One the other hand, people living in rural areas, who are more likely to have their own driveway and spend more time on motorways and less-busy regional roads may not mind the extra space. READ ALSO: Could Germany also introduce parking fees for SUVs? An object of controversy SUV drivers often say they appreciate the extra space the vehicles have. Others say it makes them feel safe, as their vehicle is more likely to be the larger one in the event of an accident. But SUVs have been criticised by environmentalists for their hefty fuel use, and by urbanists for the added danger they pose to pedestrians, cyclists and drivers of smaller cars. Advertisement According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) , global SUV use amounts to more climate harming emissions than most countries in the world: "If SUVs were a country, they'd be the world's fifth largest emitter of CO2". READ ALSO: Why an anonymous group has been deflating tyres of SUVs across Germany Interestingly, Verivox also was able to determine the profile of the average SUV driver. As opposed to how the vehicles are often marketed - as a family vehicle or for young people who like to go out for outdoor adventures - the vehicles seem to sell the best with pensioners. Verivox found that the group that owns the most SUVs was males over the age of 50, and the proportion of SUV owners was even a bit higher for those over 70.
Local Germany
27-03-2025
- Business
- Local Germany
What happens next after Berlin's two-day public transport strike?
In the midst of a two-day warning strike that has brought much of Berlin's public transport to a halt, there appears to be a glimmer of hope that weeks of chaos could soon be at an end. On Thursday afternoon, transport operator BVG and services union Verdi announced that they had agreed to enter into a formal mediation, marking a turning point in their ongoing wage dispute. At a press conference held in Berlin, both sides named their chosen mediators: SPD politician and former Brandenburg state premier Matthias Platzeck will represent BVG, while Left Party politician and Bundestag vice president Bodo Ramelow will mediate on behalf of Verdi. The mediation talks will begin on Friday and are expected to conclude by April 10th. During this period, the so-called "peace obligation" clause means no further strikes can take place, giving Berliners a break from the recent wave of disruptions. Nevertheless, Verdi's latest 48-hour transport strike will still continue as planned until 3am on Friday morning. During this time, bus, tram, and U-Bahn services will remain suspended across the city. READ ALSO: How Berlin's two-day BVG strike will impact passengers How does mediation work? Mediation, or Schlichtung in German, is a formal negotiation process led by independent mediators. It is usually seen as a last resort after collective bargaining between unions and employers has failed. Under German trade law, each side is allowed to appoint a mediator and four delegates to represent their interests. The goal is to reach a compromise that can be recommended to both sides for final approval - though no side is obliged to accept it. Advertisement In parallel with the mediation decision, Verdi has launched a ballot among union members to approve indefinite strikes. This will run until April 4th and requires two thirds of members to reject BVG's latest offer for the strikes to go forward. However, due to the agreed-upon mediation period, no further industrial action can be called until at least April 10th, regardless of the ballot's outcome. Buses sit in a bus depot in Siegfriedstraße, Berlin, at the start of a two-day BVG warning strike. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Ukas What are the two sides fighting about? Since the start of the year, Verdi and BVG have been locked in tough negotiations over the future pay and conditions for some 16,500 transport workers in Berlin. Citing the spike in the cost of the living, the union is demanding a monthly increase of €750, bonuses for driving and other unsociable shifts, and a 13th-month salary as a Christmas bonus. BVG has pushed back, citing budgetary constraints, but recently improved its offer to a 17.2 percent wage increase for drivers. However, Verdi has described this offer as "far removed" from its demands. READ ALSO: Where rail passengers can expect disruptions in Berlin and Brandenburg in 2025 With the union taking an uncompromising stance, it remains unclear whether the independent mediators will be able to thrash out an agreement that can satisfy both parties. Advertisement However, BVG has welcomed the development, describing the arbitration as "good news for our employees and all Berliners." Speaking at the press conference on Thursday, Verdi negotiator Jeremy Arndt also struck an optimistic tone about the forthcoming talks. "It is good that we are now trying to develop a common perspective on what the work of BVG employees should be worth today," he told assembled reporters.
Local Germany
24-03-2025
- Local Germany
Why Berlin will see another two-day public transport strike this week
Berlin is set to see a 48-hour transportation strike begin on Wednesday, March 26th, that will bring stop the city's U-Bahn and tram traffic, along with the majority of its buses. For residents in Berlin, the announcement could inspire a feeling of déjà vu, as the city had just seen a two-day strike last week during the same days. This will mark the 4th strike by employees of Berlin's transport company, Berliner Verkehrsbetrieben (BVG), so far this year. This strike comes after the sixth round of negotiations between the Verdi trade union and BVG employers. As with previous strikes transport will stop around 3am with the start of the earliest shifts on Wednesday morning. Operations are expected to begin again two days later, at around the same time, on Friday morning. How will passengers be affected? Passengers who've been in Berlin through the previous BVG strikes this year will know the drill by now. All U-Bahn trains and trams will be stopped for the duration of the strike, as will most city buses. Some bus lines, however, will still be in service. These are bus lines: 106, 114, 118, 133, 161, 168, 175, 179, 204, 218, 234, 263, 275, 316, 318, 320, 326, 334, 349, 358, 363, 380, N12, N23, N35, N39, N53, N61, N63, N69, N84, N91, N95, N97, according to BVG . Lines 112, 124, 184, 744, 893, N68 and X36 are running with limited services. EXPLAINED: How Berlin's two-day BVG strike will impact passengers Advertisement BVG's public transport ferries and its Muva service are not affected. Additionally, S-bahn trains (which are operated by Deutsch Bahn) will still be in service. Why is Berlin seeing so many public transport strikes? So far, BVG and Verdi have been unable to come to an agreement on wage increases over the coming years. The union is demanding €750 more in monthly wages for BVG employees, a driving service or alternating shift bonus of €300, and a 13th month's salary. BVG says it has made offers moving in the direction of Verdi's demands. Its last offer amounted to a 13.6 percent wage increase over a period of two years. However, Verdi says the offer is "far removed" from its demands. According to German media reports , BVG has condemned the coming strike "in the strongest possible terms". Meanwhile Verdi says that responsibility for the continued disruptions lies with the employers and the Berlin Senate, which decides on city budget issues. Could indefinite strikes be on the horizon? It certainly looks like it. Though BVG is pushing for the talks to go to mediation, Verdi wants to hold a ballot on indefinite strike action from Wednesday until April 4th. To launch an indefinite strike at least 75 percent of BVG workers in the union would need to reject BVG's latest offer and approve the action. That means that, if the next strike and following negotiations don't result in a satisfying agreement, Berlin could see indefinite transport strikes in April. Advertisement Transport chaos intensified by construction closures Of course there's never really a convenient time to have a transport strike, but this week's strike comes amidst traffic chaos sparked by construction closures. The closure of the Ringbahn bridge on the A100 has led to massive traffic jams in western parts of the city. For commuters affected by this closure, even driving a car is not a great alternative to the subway this week. S-Bahn trains also failed to be a good substitute last week as they saw repeated disruptions and major delays.
