Trade unionists on the dispute at BVG: “Many employees are prepared to go to extremes”

It is a glimmer of hope for the troubled passengers of the Berlin Transport Company ( BVG ). Will they be spared from strikes for now? In the dispute over higher wages for the approximately 16,600 employees of the state-owned company, the board and the Verdi union are meeting this Wednesday for their fourth round of negotiations. "If the employer finally presents us with a negotiable offer, then that naturally increases the chance that the passengers will have peace for the time being and that there will be no further warning strikes at the BVG until the fifth round on March 21," Verdi negotiator Jeremy Arndt told the Berliner Zeitung on Monday.

The 39-year-old said he was not a pessimist. But Arndt was not particularly confident that a breakthrough was imminent after three warning strikes. "We would be surprised if the BVG actually managed to do this now. At least we have not heard any signals to that effect so far."

Verdi has given the BVG board a 40-day ultimatum

At 10 a.m. the opponents will meet in Trias, the BVG headquarters on Holzmarktstrasse in Mitte. Seven hours are scheduled for the meeting - more time than before. The Verdi collective bargaining commission will meet immediately afterwards. In all probability, it will decide on another "feedback". This means that Verdi people will fan out and get the opinion of the workforce. The collective bargaining commission is to meet again at the beginning of next week, planned for Monday afternoon.

"Then we will see how this wage dispute develops," explained Arndt. "All I can say is that the willingness to strike remains high. Many BVG employees are prepared and determined to go to extremes and strike indefinitely. We have already had to put the brakes on some of them because an enforcement strike is legally bound to certain conditions. First of all, there must be a ballot in which at least 75 percent of participants are in favor of such a strike."

The wage negotiations for Germany's largest local public transport company began in January. "We need to get down to business now," warned the union representative. "It feels like we've been going around in circles for three rounds of negotiations and aren't really making any progress." This Wednesday's meeting is the last meeting before the 40-day ultimatum ends on March 21. If there is no acceptable offer on the table, Verdi will decide on a strike through a ballot. Can Verdi afford an indefinite strike? The negotiator said: "We're not worried about that. We've shown in other areas that we can get things done."

Numerous BVG employees are “internally ready to leave”

"It should be clear to everyone involved that something has to change," says Arndt. "But unfortunately I have the impression that the positions of the employer and the Verdi union are still very far apart. The creativity to close the gaps and achieve an acceptable result with us is currently lacking."

The BVG cannot afford to disappoint employees in this round of wage negotiations. "Pay must improve noticeably, otherwise all projects, all restructuring, all initiatives in the company will be useless - because the necessary staff are no longer there," said the Verdi negotiator.

Arndt reported that he knows many BVG employees who have mentally resigned. "I have never seen so many mentally ready to leave. They are waiting to see what the outcome of this wage negotiations will be for them - and will then look for another job if the result is not satisfactory. If in doubt, in other professions. There are many areas in which they can earn at least the same amount of money - but with less stress than at BVG, without Sunday and night work."

It is true that the BVG dealt with around 36,000 applications last year. Arndt: "That is a huge achievement and a huge effort. But overall, the driving service has hardly gained any new employees. The colleagues who train to become drivers often drop out after just a few weeks."

Where is the third financing pillar for local transport in Berlin?

The union members certainly believe that the employer has recognized the challenge and wants to improve pay. "The board knows that it will face much greater difficulties if it does not act in the interests of the employees," says Arndt. But the BVG, which had a group deficit of 58 million euros last year, has a financing problem that the Senate has left it to deal with on its own.

"The BVG must improve its income. That is why it is so annoying that the Senate's efforts to create a third, supplementary funding pillar for Berlin's local transport have come to nothing. A report was drawn up under the aegis of the Greens, but it is gathering dust in a drawer. Nothing has happened since then. If we had this pillar, we would be in a different situation." One of the proposals was to impose a local transport levy on large employers in Berlin. A general public transport contribution, a city toll and nationwide parking fees are also on the experts' list.

CDU politicians fear that the BVG will have to cut its services for passengers if personnel costs rise too much. Jeremy Arndt, however, thought such concerns were nonsense. "What Finance Senator Stefan Evers did with his threat was, in our view, an attempt to divide Berliners and turn them against us. But he did not succeed," the union representative pointed out. "The Senate has now also noticed that many citizens support us. Berliners know that something has to be done at the BVG and that this is also in their interest."

The offer for passengers would have to be cut so much – unrealistic

But savings measures of this kind would not achieve that much, the transport administration said. In order to achieve savings of 100 million euros, the BVG's ordered services would have to be cut by 17 percent. "In terms of scope, this would correspond roughly to the closure of the entire Köpenick tram network, the Spandau bus network and the U5 and U6 subway lines combined" - unrealistic. According to observers, this indicates that the BVG has other problems: too high fixed costs, too much administration.

"It is true that the BVG has structural problems," admitted Jeremy Arndt. He gave an example: the company will be getting a lot of new subway trains this year - but still does not know where the vehicles will be parked. There is a lack of space. "We have productivity issues in all areas. In my opinion, there are far too many hierarchical levels - far too many kingdoms. The common perspective has been lost. There is no question that the BVG basically has to turn everything on its head in order to position itself for the future. The fact that the BVG is now in this state is not thanks to the employees, but to individual managers and the Senate," said the union representative.

How does Arndt manage to stay calm? His family, which includes four children, provides distractions at home in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, he said. And sometimes a walk with the dog. "Collective bargaining rounds are always exceptional situations - for both sides. After all, we are talking about more than 16,000 employees who are hoping for improvement. And things don't always go as planned," said the union representative. But it doesn't help anyone if he acts emotionally as a negotiator. "I have to try to maintain objectivity and act rationally. That means that I cannot respond publicly to every barb or criticism - whether it comes from the employer or from our ranks."

Jeremy Arndt explained that he tries not to let his emotions get to him. "They don't help you find a reasonable solution. But even in collective bargaining, there is the day after. For all contentious issues, we have always found common solutions with the board and initiated projects together. Everyone has their role, but we have to find constructive solutions and treat each other reasonably."