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.

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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. 

'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.

The duo, which successfully thrashed out a deal for Deutsche Bahn workers back in 2017, presented their recommendations to the two parties on Monday.

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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.

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.