German railway operator Deutsche Bahn and its main union said Saturday they had reached a pay deal after strikes disrupted services earlier this week. The EVG union, which represents most of the 160,000 DB workers, agreed a 6.1 percent pay rise in all - 3.5 percent payable from July 2019 and 2.6 percent from July 2020.
EVG originally demanded a 7.5 percent pay hike while DB offered 5.1 percent. Employees will also get a one-off payment of 1,000 euros ($1,130) just before the first phase salary increase, EVG and DB said. EVG negotiator Regina Rusch-Ziemba said the union had won comprehensively after strike action had "sent a clear sign" to the company of workers' determination.