BERLIN (AP) — A labor union representing more than 200,000 railway workers in Germany said Saturday that it was cancelling plans for a two-day strike after employers met one of its key demands.
The EVG union had said earlier this week that its members would walk out for 50 hours from late Sunday until late Tuesday. Rail company Deutsche Bahn said this would have affected all long-distance travel during that period and warned that most regional trains also wouldn’t run.
Deutsche Bahn had sought a court injunction against the strike Saturday, insisting that it had agreed to the union’s demand for the minimum wage of 12 euros an hour to be ensured through basic pay rather than with bonuses.
Negotiations on a broader deal continue.
The company has offered tax-free one-off payments and a raise of 10% for low- and medium-wage groups, as well as 8% for those on higher wages. EVG had demanded an increase of 12%, saying it wanted an agreement valid for 12 months rather than Deutsche Bahn’s proposed 27 months.
The strike, which would have affected dozens of other rail companies as well as freight traffic, would have been one of the biggest in recent years, following a previous large-scale walkout in April.
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