After five days of strike, the train drivers’ union agreed to end the strike, which was scheduled to last until late Monday afternoon, as early as midnight on Sunday. At least until further notice, if no solution is found to his labor and salary claims.

The Deutsche Bahn side, however, agreed to enter into negotiations on the issue of working hours, wage increases and has already committed to pay a one-off inflation allowance of around 1,500 euros in the near future. It remains to be seen how much concessions the powerful train drivers’ union is prepared to make.

In any case according to the calculations of economists the five-day strike has already cost the German economy about half a billion in total. The train drivers’ strike affected long-distance passenger routes, local and suburban trains as well as commercial trains operated by DB.

Will other branches take over after train drivers?

At the same time, the disruption for passengers in Berlin cannot be ruled out to continue. According to local Berlin media Berlin’s bus, tram and subway workers may take up warning strikes after trains. The focus is on a series of labor and salary claims, in the context of the negotiations for the new collective labor agreement.

This would paralyze the capital, given that the majority of citizens travel by public transport. According to the Berliner Zeitung the last time the Berlin Mass Media (BVG) went on strike was in 2020, “for half a day during the morning rush hour”. Critical announcements from the Verdi union are expected on Monday afternoon, while similar negotiations are being held in almost all German states except Bavaria.

Week of… budgets

At the same time another difficult budget week or rather budgets begins for the German government. First, at the end of the week, the composite budget for 2024 is expected to be passed. A budget of spending cuts, cuts and investment freezes after the fiscal shock at the end of last year with the ruling of the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, which freezes “hidden funds” .

However, the German government is also faced with an additional serious fiscal challenge. According to leaks in the German press, the 2025 budget is expected to show a hole of at best 15 billion and not five, as originally expected. A combination of an expected deficit, extraordinary costs concerning 2024 and costs to deal with the consequences of climate change. The big loser in 2025 is expected to be the Climate Fund, the big bet of the Greens.