Almost nothing works at Lufthansa anymore. Around 100,000 passengers are affected by the warning strike. Ver.di hopes for a quick conclusion in the collective bargaining negotiations.
Lufthansa ground staff are on strike for the second time this month, almost paralyzing the airline’s operations. Around 90 percent of the planned 1,000 starts were canceled, a spokesman said. More than 100,000 passengers were affected.
The failures are particularly noticeable at the Frankfurt am Main and Munich hubs. The airports in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Cologne/Bonn and Stuttgart are also affected. Lufthansa had warned affected passengers not to come to the airport anyway because rebookings were not possible there. The warning strike is scheduled to end on Wednesday morning around 7 a.m.
“This is a bitter day for our guests,” said a Lufthansa spokesman. The passengers were rebooked on other connections as best as possible. Ver.di is responsible for the fact that many people will still be disappointed. With an offer of a ten percent salary increase in twelve months and a tax-free inflation bonus of 3,000 euros, the negotiation should continue.
Ver.di is pushing for an early conclusion
The ver.di union wants to use the strikes to exert pressure in the ongoing collective bargaining. On Monday evening, technicians and IT experts had already stopped work. On Tuesday morning, employees at the counters, the boarding gates and directly at the aircraft followed.
Strike and negotiator Martin Reschinsky said that ver.di wanted to have a result in the negotiations this week if possible. “We have now proven twice that we can strike.” Once again there was strong participation in the warning strike actions, so that even more flights were canceled than during the first wave at the beginning of February. “It would therefore be wise to conclude now.”
From the union’s perspective, the round of negotiations scheduled for Wednesday in the Frankfurt Lufthansa administration could certainly be extended to Thursday if a conclusion is within reach. The mere fact that another date has been reserved in March does not mean that they do not want to conclude things now.
Union demands 12.5 percent more money
The trade unionist again demanded a higher offer from the company. Compared to the pilots, the salary increases offered so far for the ground staff were significantly too low.
The comparison made by Lufthansa Human Resources Director Michael Niggemann that the offer corresponds to a degree in the public service does not work. “We don’t have any cash-strapped finances at Lufthansa. And unlike in the public sector, the employees still have a lot of catching up to do from the Corona period.”
Ver.di charges 12.5 percent more money for its more than 20,000 employees as well as an inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros for a term of one year. Lufthansa recently offered the bonus and around ten percent more salary for a term of 25 months. The first salary step is scheduled to take place in December 2024.