Arbitration in the collective bargaining dispute in the aviation security industry begins at midday. An agreement is expected to be reached on Sunday evening – until then, the ver.di union has committed not to strike again.
After several rounds of warning strikes at the airports, arbitration for the private aviation security forces is scheduled to begin at midday. At a secret location, the former Bremen State Councilor for Finance Hans-Henning Lühr (SPD) wants to try to reconcile the different positions of the ver.di union and the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS). The collective bargaining parties have initially given themselves until midnight on Sunday as a deadline for this. Ver.di has committed itself not to call on the security service providers’ approximately 25,000 employees to stop work again until the end of the arbitration.
According to ver.di negotiator Wolfgang Pieper, the topics are diverse. Salary increases, duration, payout points or allowances for trainers and managers. After six rounds of negotiations so far, there is no problem anywhere; ultimately, all issues remain open even after several waves of warning strikes.
Sticking point Overtime allowances
The main sticking point still seems to be the overtime bonuses, which ver.di demands “from the first overtime hour onwards”. To date, there are time buffers free of surcharges and temporary overtime is billed via annual working time accounts. Pieper says the system is designed in such a way that practically no one receives overtime bonuses and only employers benefit from the flexibility buffer.
Ultimately, short-time work is avoided in times of year with less traffic, especially at smaller airports, counters the BDLS. According to the negotiator Frank Haindl, the companies have accommodated the employees on the issue of overtime bonuses starting earlier, after the bonuses for Sundays and public holidays and for night work had already been increased last year.
The arbitrator’s recommendation is not binding
According to their own statements, the employers recently offered a three-stage increase in hourly wages of 3.25 euros for a period of 24 months. Ver.di had charged an hourly wage of 2.80 euros more, but for a period of 12 months.
The arbitrator’s expected recommendation is not binding for either side. A lot will depend on whether it is worked out together by both sides and ultimately supported. Both sides want to keep quiet about the interim situation.
Further collective bargaining conflict in the Aviation industry
On Thursday, Lufthansa began negotiations again with the UFO union. This is about the tariffs of the core airline’s approximately 18,000 flight attendants.
Last week, an arbitration led by the Thuringian Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow and the former head of the employment agency Frank-Jürgen Weise resulted in a collective bargaining agreement for Lufthansa’s approximately 25,000 ground employees. They should receive salary increases of an average of 12.5 percent within two years as well as a 3,000 euro inflation compensation bonus.