BVG: Verdi terminates parts of pay deal, says "strike is our last resort"
Verdi is preparing a new pay round in early 2027 for more than 16,500 staff at Berlin's transit operator BVG. The union is not ruling out strikes.
Symbolic image · Photo: Matti Blume / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
The Verdi union has terminated parts of the collective agreement for Berlin's public transport and is preparing a new pay round for early 2027. Union secretary Serat Canyurt, responsible for more than 16,500 BVG employees, announced the move on Monday: "Strike is our last resort", though walkouts are not ruled out.
Verdi is surveying employees until Dec. 4, and a list of demands is to go to the municipal employers' association in mid-December. Pay and working hours are the focus, and a higher Christmas bonus is also on the table. Canyurt cited inflation and fuel prices.
During the early-2026 bargaining round, Verdi called two warning strikes. BVG posted a 2025 loss of 50.2 million euros and aims to break even in 2026; its board sees little room for major additional benefits, the Berliner Zeitung reported.