In five rounds of collective bargaining, the union tried to get a wage increase for airport staff – so far without success. A new round in the collective bargaining dispute will soon begin. A warning strike is intended to build up pressure beforehand.
The Verdi union is once again calling on aviation security forces at several German airports to go on a warning strike. The all-day strike on Thursday affects the Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe/Baden Baden airports, as Verdi announced in Berlin on Tuesday. The union called on employees in passenger screening, people and goods screening, cargo screening and service areas to stop work.
Aviation security collective bargaining concerns the working conditions of around 25,000 employees of private security service providers. On behalf of the Federal Police, they check passengers, staff and luggage at the entrances to the security area.
Warning strikes at several airports at the beginning of February and March
In the state of Bavaria, these workers are employed in the public service, for which a different collective agreement applies. According to estimates by the airport association ADV, around 1,100 flights were canceled during the first wave of warning strikes on February 1st at eleven larger airports because passengers could no longer get into security areas.
The strike by Lufthansa cabin crew is also set to continue on Wednesday. After the strike in Frankfurt with around 70,000 passengers affected, the flight attendants of Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cityline in Munich want to stop their work. According to the company’s estimates, 400 flights with 50,000 passengers will not be able to take off there. At the same time, negotiations with Verdi for the Lufthansa employees on the ground are to continue from this Wednesday.
The UFO union is essentially demanding 15 percent more money for the approximately 18,000 cabin employees at Lufthansa and the almost 1,000 employees at the regional subsidiary Lufthansa Cityline with a contract term of 18 months. The union also wants to achieve an inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros and higher allowances. At the same time, Lufthansa is still having wage disputes with Verdi for ground staff, among other things.
In order to emphasize their demands, the Verdi union also called for work stoppages at the airports in Frankfurt and Hamburg on March 7th. The employees at the personnel and goods checks at Cologne/Bonn Airport also went on strike. This should particularly affect freight traffic.
New collective bargaining round at the end of March
So far, five rounds of negotiations in the collective bargaining dispute have failed to produce any results. Verdi is calling for an hourly wage increase of 2.80 euros over a period of twelve months, with overtime bonuses starting more quickly from the first hour of overtime.
According to their own information, the employers from the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS) have offered 2.70 euros in three stages with a term of 24 months. In addition to compensating for inflation, this also means an increase in real wages, explained BDLS negotiator Frank Haindl. A sixth hearing is scheduled for March 20th.
This is just one of several tariff disputes in air transport in Germany at the moment. Most of them concern Lufthansa and its passengers. Among other things, the conflict with Verdi among the Lufthansa ground staff and with the flight attendant union UFO among the cabin crew remains unresolved.
Source: Stern
