They demand wage increases of 10.5% or a minimum of 500 euros per month for airport staff
The 24-hour strike by ground and air security personnel at seven airports called by the services union Ver.di paralyzed almost all air traffic in Germany this Friday to demand strong wage increases to compensate for high inflation and the high cost of living. The actions concern the two main aviation hubs in the country, Frankfurt and Munich, as well as Hamburg, Hanover, Stuttgart, Bremen and Dortmund, which together carry two-thirds of the country’s air passengers.
In negotiations with the employer, the strikers demand wage increases of 10.5% for the next 12 months or at least 500 euros more per month. The interruptions come when official negotiations between unions and companies for public services, ground handling services and aviation safety, which are jointly protesting, have not yet started. The German aviation association ADV calculates that the strike will affect about 300,000 passengers and 2,340 flights.
Germany’s Lufthansa, the largest in Europe, has suspended all its flights in Frankfurt and Munich, totaling more than 1,300 operations. The airline notified its passengers days ago asking them to look for alternatives to domestic flights using the train and offered to change tickets to other days. “We regret that the strike is taking place at the expense of our passengers,” Lufthansa said in a statement. The company expects its air scheduling to normalize this Saturday.
Ver.di union vice president Christine Behle stressed that extraordinary relief flights for those affected by the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria will not be affected by the strike. Air cargo planes from Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines that plan to take off from several German airports will be able to do so without any problems. The strike coincides with the start of the Munich Security Conference. The organizers of the strike indicated that the strike participants who plan to go on special flights can land in the Bavarian capital.
Source: La Verdad
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