Germany: Hundreds of flights canceled amid strikes
Four airports in Germany were bracing for severe disruptions on Thursday and Friday, with around 700 flight cancellations expected to impact at least 100,000 passengers.
The Verdi trade union called on aviation security workers to strike at airports in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Cologne/Bonn and Stuttgart due to the standstill in wage negotiations.
“Nearly 100,000 passengers will suffer again as a result of Verdi’s strike tactics,” said the chief executive of the German airport association ADV, Ralph Beisel.
The strike comes as Verdi negotiates with the aviation safety association BDLS to demand pay increases for night shifts, weekends and holidays.
More than 900,000 passengers affected in 2023
Inflation in Germany has led to a wave of strikes in recent months as workers seek higher wages to offset rising living costs.
In the first three and a half months of 2023, over 900,000 passengers were forced to reschedule or even cancel their flights due to Verdi strikes.
The ADV on Wednesday expressed concern that airports were being “abused as a stage for a permanent strike”.
Negotiations between the union and the aviation safety association BDLS are expected to continue next week.
EVG also calls strike
In addition to the airport strikes, German rail and transport union EVG called a national transport strike on Friday, impacting around 50 companies, including national rail operator Deutsche Bahn.
The strike will take place from 03:00 (01:00 GMT) to 11:00 (09:00 GMT), with significant disruption expected.
Passengers were advised to reschedule if possible as long-haul and regional traffic would be disrupted, at least for the first half of the day.
EVG is seeking a pay rise of 12%, or a minimum of €650 ($712) a month, for its 230,000 members.
Deutsche Bahn offered a 5% pay rise along with a one-off payment of €2,500.
EVG said a salary increase was necessary due to “financial burdens that have increased sharply”. Inflation in Germany fell to 7.4% in March, down from a peak of 8.8% in October.
A solution to the public sector wage dispute was proposed by independent arbitrators over the weekend. The unions plan to start negotiations with the federal government and local authorities at the end of next week.
Unlike a coordinated, large-scale transport strike in late March, the two unions did not agree on Friday’s strikes beforehand.
Source: DW
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