There have already been ultimatums, mediations, a lot of caution moves – struggle after struggle has adopted within the non-public bus business in Rhineland-Palatinate in recent times. Employers and unions have failed to achieve an settlement, and requires the state to interfere are nonetheless loud. The outcome: many bus drivers were with out pay raises for years, buses were caught at depots, faculty shipping has been lower, and households have needed to improvise. And there’s no signal of development but – to the contrary.
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Marion Paul, the brand new regional supervisor of the Verdi district for Rhineland-Palatinate and Saar, talks about “a very difficult, long dispute”. “The bus drivers are completely disappointed, with the employers in the VAV, but also with the politicians. According to his predecessor Michael Blug, private public transport bus drivers have not received a pay rise for 50 months. “There are sufficient individuals who want to step up.” That is the way you get additional assist from the state.
Verdi terminated the collective bargaining partnership
The collective bargaining negotiations with the VAV – the affiliation of employers’ associations within the shipping business in Rhineland-Palatinate – evolved so badly that Verdi ended its collective bargaining partnership with the affiliation, in keeping with Blug. “Something like that happens very rarely.” This is the reason we are actually discussing with participants in higher firms whether or not we will have to input into collective bargaining.
VAV CEO Heiko Nagel additionally talks in regards to the awkward scenario. Non-public bus firms had ten, occasionally 15-year provider contracts. Requests for wage will increase on this length aren’t possible. The presented RLP index, through which the general public sector compensates for will increase in body of workers and effort prices, nonetheless does no longer assist general because it handiest applies to new contracts.
Guido Borning, managing director of the Affiliation for Mobility and Logistics Rhineland-Palatinate (Molo), says that businesses can’t offset the extra personnel prices with price ticket earnings – “especially not in the age of the German ticket and widespread gross contracts”. Municipalities, in flip, are in a troublesome budgetary scenario and can’t independently undergo further prices.
What’s the index about?
For Nagel from VAV, there are handiest two choices: both the employer facet and Verdi sign up for forces or the state provides extra money. In his opinion, this could be conceivable through revising the mechanism of the directive to advertise further personnel prices within the bus business.
Then again, it does not appear that approach. The Ministry of Mobility says the rustic won’t interfere within the ongoing collective dispute. During the Directive, it already contributes part of the extra personnel prices from the collective agreements between 2020 and 2022 and already supplies 22 million euros in line with yr for this goal. There is not any query of the rest.
The RLP index can’t unravel a collective dispute or save you long run conflicts in collective bargaining, the ministry stated upon request. “However, it contributes to a realistic reflection of the increase in public transport production costs and to the creation of a predictable economic framework. This creates an improved basis for collective bargaining. The index is a state offer; the implementation of the index is the responsibility of the contracting partners as part of their contract design and is therefore voluntary.”
Employers: “Don’t deny us collective agreements”
“It is by no means the case that we are rejecting collective agreements,” emphasizes Normal Director VAV Nagel. However this will have to be funded, so there’s a drawback – given the rising scarcity of drivers. Because of the loss of wage will increase, drivers additionally moved to neighboring states.
A central employment portal and a poster marketing campaign not too long ago presented through the state to encourage and recruit folks to paintings in native public shipping won’t alternate this. The marketing campaign cash may have been higher spent, Nagel says. Drivers in Rhineland-Palatinate wanted extra money of their wallets.
Borning from the Molo affiliation praises initiatives just like the body of workers marketing campaign. However that doesn’t alternate the truth that there’s no purposeful refinancing mechanism for current contracts. “If the country – according to political wishes – wants to expand public transport, make it more attractive and advance the transport transition, it must also focus on drivers,” he says.
Moves as “Ultima ratio”
Employers believe Verdi. Blug emphasizes: “Sadly, we’re growing right into a wage-dumping nation from Rhineland-Palatinate within the non-public bus business. He additionally sees the problematic penalties of long-term shipping contracts. If new collective agreements with upper wages had been to return into power all over the mandate, non-public firms would move to their government and say: ‘I would like extra money from you, since the further prices of collective bargaining weren’t taken under consideration when signing the contract.’
One will have to at all times moderately read about the place further prices in fact stand up because of collective agreements and the place non-public folks need to unjustifiably build up their earnings, says Blug. State District Supervisor Paul emphasizes: “From our point of view, it would be best if the state not only took the money into its own hands, but also made bus transportation a public responsibility again. This is a public service and belongs in municipal hands. This would also have a direct impact on the schedule and working conditions.”
However since that’s not in sight, there’s a lot to indicate that moves will happen quickly. They’re just a closing lodge, says Blug. “We know that public transport also transports schools and kindergartens, as well as an elderly lady whose small local community no longer has a store and who has to go by bus to the neighboring community to buy groceries. But if the employers did not move, the only option was strikes. “I might say that it’s inevitable – and if one thing actually does no longer occur, prior to March subsequent yr” – the month wherein the state elections in Rhineland-Palatinate are held.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:251207-930-390055/1
