Can I fly on Easter vacation? Many passengers are currently asking themselves anxiously. After the previous waves of strikes in air transport, negotiations are now taking place again.
Shortly before the start of the Easter travel wave, efforts to resolve various tariff conflicts in air transport are in full swing. The flight attendant union UFO and Lufthansa continued their two-day negotiations for cabin workers.
“We are very interested in not overly burdening passengers,” said UFO tariff expert Harry Jaeger. Arbitrators should help in the collective bargaining dispute among Lufthansa ground staff. In the event of an unsuccessful arbitration, Verdi started the strike vote on indefinite strikes. The sixth round of collective bargaining for aviation security staff at airports also begins on 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. Last week, flight attendants from Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cityline at Frankfurt and Munich airports went on strike for one day each.
Ramelow and Weise should mediate
Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow and the former head of the Federal Employment Agency, Frank-Jürgen Weise, are supposed to mediate in the collective bargaining dispute between the approximately 25,000 Lufthansa employees on the ground. “However, if the arbitration does not produce a result that the employees can agree to, it can be assumed that there will be forced strikes,” said Verdi negotiator Marvin Reschinsky. A forced strike is an indefinite strike.
The arbitration should begin next Monday (March 25th) and end on Maundy Thursday (March 28th) at the latest. A duty of peace should apply during the mediation. Strikes would theoretically be possible on Good Friday. Most recently, hundreds of Lufthansa flights were canceled in this area due to a warning strike organized by Verdi.
Negotiations for aviation security personnel after a wave of warning strikes
After the latest wave of warning strikes by aviation security staff at German airports, representatives of the Verdi union want to meet with private aviation security companies in Berlin this Wednesday. The collective bargaining parties blocked Thursday from further discussions.
It’s about the working conditions of around 25,000 employees of private security providers. On behalf of the Federal Police, they check passengers, staff and luggage at the entrances to the security area. According to estimates by the airport association ADV, a total of 662 flights were canceled during two-day warning strikes at several German airports last week, affecting more than 100,000 passengers. During the first wave of warning strikes on February 1st, an estimated 1,100 flights were canceled.
The Easter holidays begin in ten federal states next Monday (March 25th). Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Bremen have already started.
Source: Stern
