One strike follows another in the German transport infrastructure. Verdi wants to shut down eleven major airports on Thursday. It’s about the salaries of a comparatively small professional group.
Verdi is making the airports the scene of a warning strike again on Thursday. The union has called on air security control employees at eleven major airports to stop work all day. As a result, according to estimates by the airport association ADV, around 1,100 flights will be canceled or will only be able to take off late. Around 200,000 passengers are affected.
Where is the strike happening?
According to Verdi, the actions will take place in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Bremen, Berlin, Leipzig, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Hanover, Stuttgart, Erfurt and Dresden. According to Lufthansa’s assessment, access to the aircraft will not be possible here. Munich and Nuremberg airports are not affected by the Verdi strike, so it can be assumed that operations there can continue to their full extent. Here the aviation security forces work in the public service, for which a different collective agreement applies. Several airports such as Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart have canceled all take-offs, while Düsseldorf and Cologne wanted to maintain some.
Lufthansa flies most of the program
This also applies to Germany’s largest airport, Frankfurt, where 1,050 flight movements were initially planned. Lufthansa wants to fly most of its program on Thursday. The airline said most of the long-haul flights would take place. Arrival and return flights for those transferring should also be offered. However, there could be longer waiting times in the transit area. The company is offering free rebookings until February 8th. Passengers for domestic flights could exchange their ticket for a train ticket free of charge, regardless of whether their flight takes place or not.
The aviation security forces work at checks for passengers, baggage and personnel. Without them, normal operation is not possible. Air traffic is therefore likely to be paralyzed in large parts of Germany. Verdi is demanding, among other things, higher salaries for the around 25,000 employees nationwide.
Airports and airlines not involved
ADV general manager Ralph Beisel sharply criticized the union’s actions: “The airports are not a collective bargaining party in this dispute, but are once again becoming the venue for the conflict of interest. The ADV airport association called on the Verdi union to seek a solution at the negotiating table.” Passengers need reliability. “Almost every day in Germany we experience strike announcements that are detrimental to mobility and the economy. This must be stopped.”
Walkouts begin at different times
The work stoppages in Cologne/Bonn were supposed to begin on Wednesday evening at 9 p.m. because there is no ban on night flights there. Verdi representative Özay Tarim told the German Press Agency that they wanted to send a clear signal. The employers have so far behaved “unacceptably” in the negotiations. “We will now use employees to put pressure on employers so that we can finally make progress at the negotiating table.”
2.80 euros more per hour
In the collective bargaining dispute, Verdi is demanding 2.80 euros more wages per hour, higher functional bonuses and overtime bonuses from the first hour of overtime. The new collective agreement should run for one year. Aviation security assistants in the lowest salary group currently earn 20.60 euros an hour, which adds up to a gross salary of almost 3,300 euros for 160 monthly working hours. There are also surcharges for night work, Sundays and public holidays and overtime. The demand takes into account the loss of purchasing power due to inflation and includes an increase in wages, explained Verdi.
According to their own information, employers from the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS) have offered 4 percent more money for this year and 3 percent more money for next year. In addition, overtime bonuses should be paid at an earlier point in time than before. Verdi’s demands added up to 250 million euros in additional costs this year alone, a BDLS spokeswoman said. Contrary to what the union claims, not every wage increase can be refinanced through aviation security fees. Collective bargaining is scheduled to continue in Berlin on February 6th and 7th. Another round in February has also already been agreed.
Again and again strikes in the infrastructure
People in Germany have recently been repeatedly affected by strikes in the transport sector: last week, a rail strike and strikes at the Lufthansa subsidiary Discover caused restrictions. Verdi is calling for warning strikes in local public transport nationwide this Friday. The last time there were warning strikes in aviation security was in spring 2023 – with a significant impact on operations. At that time it was about working conditions.
Employers want arbitration agreements
The BDLS complained about the union’s strike culture. Apparently they want to join in with the rail and local transport strikes in order to enforce utopian demands at the expense of travelers and companies, explained negotiator Frank Haindl, according to the statement. The renewed escalation confirms the need for an arbitration agreement.
Source: Stern
