German railway operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the GDL union representing thousands of workers agreed to sit at the negotiation table with two mediators, as strikes that would cause chaos in the transport system will be called off during this period.

After long debates between the two sides, Heiner Geissler and Kurt Biedenkopf were chosen to mediate this feud that threatens to cause major losses for the company and German economy.

Both men are prominent politicians and members of the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU). Geissler served as minister for youth, family and health between 1982 and 1985, and was also general secretary of the CDU for twelve years since 1977.

Biedenkopf was minister-president of Saxony between 1990 and 2002, and president of the Bundesrat. He mediated a similar dispute along with former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in 2006.

DB’s CEO Hartmut Mehdorn was confident that the “two experienced moderators and recognised personalities” will be able to properly deal with “such a sophisticated task.” Geissler has also been involved in mediations in the past and was proposed by the union.

The GDL announced that “there will be no strikes during the mediation,” which will hopefully go smoothly and quickly in order to end the crisis that will certainly extend if the two sides fail to reach a consensus.

German train drivers are requesting an increase of their wages by 31 per cent and designated the GDL to represent their interests and strike a new deal with the company, different than the one signed by other rail workers with DB.

The union rejected a 4.5-per-cent increase of salaries, after DB proposed to GDL the same deal that was signed by two other unions -Transnet and GBDA- representing about 134,000 employees.

A vote held among 8,000 members of the GDL decided that a strike will take place on Thursday for four hours, but a court in Nuremberg banned the protests action because it could bring to many losses to the national economy.