HUNDREDS OF FLIGHTS GROUNDED IN GERMANY AS AIPORT WORKERS GO ON STRIKE

Thu 01 February 2024:

Due to an ongoing salary dispute, security personnel at Germany’s main airports began a one-day strike on Thursday, which resulted in the cancellation of hundreds of flights, Anadolu Agency reported.

Over 200,000 people were impacted by the strike, which canceled more than 1,100 flights at 11 airports, including Frankfurt, the busiest international airport in the nation.

The Frankfurt airport warned travelers not to visit the airport due to closed security checkpoints and stated that the strike will result in significant disruptions and aircraft cancellations throughout the day.

 “Please contact your airline or travel operator for information regarding your flight. Transfer and connecting passengers should also expect strong disruptions and delays due to the strike,” the airport operator said in a statement.

The union, which represents around 25,000 security staff, is demanding a €2.80 ($3.02) pay rise per hour, increased bonuses, and higher rates for overtime pay.

 Airports are impacted by the strike

Security staff stopped work at Frankfurt, Hamburg, Bremen, Berlin, Leipzig, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Hanover, Stuttgart, Erfurt and Dresden after Verdi called for industrial action.

All take-offs were canceled at airports in Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover and Stuttgart. Arrivals will also likely experience major delays.

At the same time, Düsseldorf airport had only canceled a third of its flights. Tarim said that the security company there had offered workers a “strike-breaking bonus” of €200 ($216) to come to work.

Airports in the southern state of Bavaria — such as Munich and Nuremberg — are not impacted by the industrial action as their security workers are considered public sector workers and have different contracts.

Authorities have said security staff at Munich and Nuremberg airports will not join the strike action, however delays and flight cancelations could still be possible, due to the nationwide disruptions to flight operations.
 
The Ver.di union called the strike after several rounds of collective bargaining talks with the Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS) failed to reach an agreement.

The main demand is an hourly wage increase of €2.80. A BDLS spokesperson said they had made an offer of a 4% pay rise for this year followed by a 3% pay rise next year, but said the union’s demand was unaffordable.

“Verdi and these workers are calling for what they see as wages that better reflect how important they are to the functioning of the airport and to air travel,” DW’s Pladson said.

“We’re also seeing in Germany right now a ripple effect in terms of labor, with people calling for improved wages, improved working conditions, and there does seem to be something of a trend occurring,” she added.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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