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European railway employers provoked an end to negotiations

12 March 2009

Yesterday, the Community of European railway companies and infrastructure managers (CER) effectively terminated negotiations with the European Transport Workers’ Federation by putting forward a non-negotiable ultimatum. The ETF and CER have been reviewing the framework that deals with the “rests spent away from home” for mobile railway personnel assigned to cross-border services, along with the appropriate compensation for these workers for several months now. The first agreement signed by CER and ETF in 2004 established this review process.

The main focus of the negotiations has been to define a maximum work period that could be spent away from home. The ETF’s major concern has been to protect mobile workers who participate in cross-border operations, while emphasizing the need for a healthy private life for these workers. The social dimension must not be ignored!

Despite a large number of proposals made by the ETF that would ensure the development of the railway sector, while also protecting the work conditions and work-life-balance of the mobile railway workers, and despite the fact that some progress was made during negotiations, yesterday, employers presented their final demand (total work period abroad) and last offer (compensation), which were not sufficient for the ETF, and declared that no further negotiations would be possible.

“The ETF delegation was surprised by the employers’ ultimatum. It was clearly not acceptable for the trade union side. We can only interpret this behaviour as the deliberate intention to let negotiations fail,” said ETF Deputy General Secretary Sabine Trier. The ETF will inform its membership at its meeting in Brussels next week about the outcome of the negotiations. But today, it is already clear that it was the employers who provoked the failure of negotiations.

For further information please contact Sabine Trier, tel. 0032 2 2854667, fax. 0032 2 2800817, e-mail: s.trier@etf-europe.org

ENDS

Related documents:
ETF Press release 12 03 09 (44kb PDF)

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