German Rail Talks May Run Into Next Month

Talks to try to end a pay dispute between German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and the GDL train drivers' union could run into next month.

Talks to try to end a pay dispute between German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and the GDL train drivers' union could run into next month, Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee was quoted as saying on Saturday.

The 34,000-member drivers' union wants a pay rise of up to 31 percent. It is seeking a separate deal from one agreed between Deutsche Bahn and 134,000 members of two larger rail workers' unions who have accepted a 4.5 percent increase.

Deutsche Bahn and the GDL union on Friday agreed there would be no strike by drivers before Aug. 27 after two former conservative politicians were appointed as mediators to help seek a deal.

"Both mediators are facing a very difficult task as the positions in the rail conflict are far apart and the shaken mutual trust between the two sides must first be rebuilt," Tiefensee told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

"The mediation talks will need time," the minister added. according to a preview of the paper's Sunday edition. "They could easily last until September."

Germany's train drivers say they are underpaid given the high level of responsibility required in the job and compared with drivers in other European countries.

The GDL had planned to halt freight services and later extend stoppages to passenger services at the height of the summer holiday season but were prevented by a Nuremberg court.

It is unclear to what extent either side is willing to compromise when the mediation efforts start. Some officials have said the talks could get going on Monday.

On Thursday, several hundred drivers staged walkouts on local trains in Berlin and Hamburg as the court injunction did not apply to those services.

The dispute comes at a crucial time for Deutsche Bahn. The government has announced plans to privatise some of the company by 2009.