The GDL union said drivers would stage a three-hour stoppage from 8 am (0600 GMT) to 11 am (0900 GMT) on Tuesday to press demands for a separate contract and a 31 per cent pay hike for Deutsche Bahn's 20,000 train drivers.

The strike threat came as the bigger Transnet and GDBA unions were set to resume talks on a new pay offer for their 134,000 members.

On Sunday, rail chief Hartmut Mehdorn made an improved offer of 3.9 per cent, up from 3.4 per cent announced last week after three days of strikes caused widespread disruption to train services in Europe's biggest rail network.

The two unions, who are seeking a 7 per cent increase, met for 10 hours with management negotiators until the early hours of Monday.

GDL chairman Manfred Schell, who met Thursday with Mehdorn, said his union would not sign a pay deal agreed between Deutsche Bahn and the other two unions.

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Two German rail unions reach pay deal - drivers plan strike

JURNALO: 09 July 2007

Germany's national railway company Deutsche Bahn AG struck a pay deal with two unions on Monday, but disruptions loomed after locomotive drivers called industrial action for Tuesday.The Transnet and GDBA unions accepted a 4. 5 per cent pay hike for their 134,000 members, Deutsche Bahn chief executive Hartmut Mehdorn told a press conference.

This was more than double the initial offer of 2 per cent made by Europe's largest rail network before the unions started industrial action that brought many services to halt for three days last week.

Transnet and GDBA had been seeking a 7-per-cent pay increase, but settled for a 4. 5 per cent raise from January 2008 and a one-off payment of 600 euros (780 dollars) for this year.

But travellers faced further delays on Tuesday when the GDL drivers' union called a three-hour stoppage from 8 am (0600 GMT) to 11 am (0900 GMT) to press demands for a separate contract and a pay hike of up to 31 per cent for 20,000 Deutsche Bahn train drivers.

The GDL did not attend Monday's talks and its chairman, Manfred Schell, who met last Thursday with Mehdorn, said his union would not sign the deal agreed by Deutsche Bahn and the other two unions. Mehdorn rejected the GDL demand for a separate contract, saying: "We don't want a two-class system in our company. " A new round of talks between the two sides was scheduled for Friday. The rail chief said the deal reached Monday was a compromise that Deutsche Bahn "approved only with strong reservations. " He said it would not be possible to accommodate all of the increase in the state-owned company's pricing structure.Transnet chairman Norbert Hansen said the increase was justified in view of the low pay raises over previous years and the strong earnings achieved by Deutsche Bahn in 2006. The agreement came after Deutsche Bahn gradually increased its initial pay offer to 3. 4 per cent on Friday and 3. 9 per cent on Sunday during talks that lasted until the early hours of Monday. Deutsche Bahn, which has a workforce of more than 220,000, is due to be privatized by 2009. It said the strike action had cost the company millions of euros a day.

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German Rail Operator Reaches Pay Deal With Unions

Deutsche Welle: 09.07.2007

Striking rail workers disrupted train schedules in Germany last week

German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and labor unions said on Monday they had reached agreement on a pay deal under which workers will receive a 4.5 percent salary hike next year.

Deutsche Bahn and the Transnet and GDBA unions, which represent 134,000 workers, reached a deal on Monday which will see rail workers getting a 4.5 percent raise next year that will apply for a period of 19 months.

"We now have a deal that will ensure peace for the next two years," Deutsche Bahn CEO Hartmut Mehdorn told a press conference.

The offer was more than double the 2 percent Europe's largest rail network offered the unions before they staged industrial action that brought many services to a standstill for three days last week.

Transnet and GDBA had been seeking a 7percent pay increase.

But travelers faced further delays on Tuesday when the GDL drivers' union called a three-hour stoppage to press demands for a separate contract and a 31 percent pay hike for Deutsche Bahn's 20,000 train drivers.

GDL chairman Manfred Schell, who met Thursday with Mehdorn, said his union would not sign a pay deal agreed between Deutsche Bahn and the other two unions.