German railway workers against strike, accepted wage offer and inflation bonus

(Patria) - German railway workers will not go on indefinite strikes after less than 50 percent of union members voted in favor, the German news agency dpa reported. A full strike would have required 75% of the votes.

The vote was preceded by months of multi-hour or one-day "warning strikes" called by the EVG union, a common tactic in German wage negotiations.

Most workers also voted in favor of a recommendation resulting from arbitration between EVG and the railway operator Deutsche Bahn, AP reports.

The compromise agreement includes a wage increase of 410 euros per month in two phases over a period of 25 months. The first phase of 200 euros will be paid from December, the second from August of next year.

In addition, all employees will receive a tax-free inflation compensation of 2,850 euros in October. Thus, the income of about 70,000 employees will significantly increase.

Another railway workers' union, GDL, is scheduled to begin negotiations for its members later this year.