Lufthansa is also on strike – almost at the same time as the railway: The ver.di union called on ground staff to go on a warning strike on Thursday and Friday. Passengers must prepare for restrictions and cancellations.
The next ver.di warning strike at Lufthansa will hit passengers again. The union has called on the airline’s entire ground staff to go on strike on Thursday and Friday this week. It is scheduled to begin in passenger areas on Thursday at 4:00 a.m. and end on Saturday at 7:10 a.m. Passengers must therefore expect extensive cancellations and restrictions.
“It is impossible for anyone to understand that this company will announce record annual results this week, that bonuses for board members will be significantly increased and that employees on the ground, with hourly wages of sometimes 13 euros, no longer even know how they are going to make ends meet in the most expensive cities in Germany.” said ver.di negotiator Marvin Reschinsky in explanation.
With the warning strike, the service union wants to increase the pressure on Lufthansa before the planned fifth round of collective bargaining on March 13th and 14th.
Collective bargaining conflict continues
In the ongoing collective bargaining dispute for around 25,000 ground workers, there had already been two warning strikes, each of which brought passenger traffic to a standstill for around a day. Last week, ver.di went on strike at Lufthansa parts of the company’s technology and cargo handling departments in order to force an improved offer from the company.
Ground staff who control the loading of aircraft at Lufthansa Cargo or are responsible for handling freight also went on strike on Saturday. Passengers were able to travel, but according to a Lufthansa spokeswoman, there were other restrictions due to the warning strike, such as acceptance stops for special cargo. We are now trying to clear the backlog as quickly as possible.
Lufthansa criticizes the union
Lufthansa had expressed outrage at the continued warning strikes and particularly criticized ver.di’s preconditions for returning to the negotiating table. The group therefore questioned the collective bargaining as a whole.
Ver.di negotiator Reschinsky regretted the impact on passengers in a statement: “In the past few days we have deliberately skipped passenger traffic with our strikes. However, by ignoring our request to negotiate, Lufthansa is telling us that it will only move when the pressure is on continues to rise.” Solutions and reliability are urgently needed for passengers. The employees and ver.di are ready to make this happen with a serious offer.
Ver.di had demanded 12.5 percent more money and an inflation compensation bonus with a term of one year. Lufthansa has so far offered 10 percent higher salaries for a 28-month contract.