Mediators put forward a proposal to end a lengthy German railway pay dispute

BERLIN (AP) — Mediators have presented their proposal to end a long-running pay dispute between Germany’s main national railway operator and a major union, a two-year settlement that would head off damaging all-out strikes. The EVG union agreed last month to take the dispute to arbitration after talks with state-owned operator Deutsche Bahn broke down. The union, which already staged hours-long or one-day “warning strikes,” a common tactic in German negotiations, had threatened to move on to open-ended strike action. The mediators on Wednesday presented a proposal that they said was backed by both Deutsche Bahn and EVG negotiators, but it will still need the approval of EVG members in a ballot in the coming weeks.