breaking news
The ver.di union has called on employees in the areas of aviation security and passenger screening to take further strikes. There will be a strike on Thursday at the airports in Berlin, Hamburg, Karlsruhe/Baden Baden, Cologne and Stuttgart.
The service union ver.di has called on its members to strike at several German airports on Thursday. Aviation security employees are to go on strike at the Karlsruhe/Baden Baden and Cologne airports. In addition, at the Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart airports, employees who work in passenger screening, people and goods screening, cargo screening and in service areas are on full-day strike.
With the strikes, ver.di wants to increase the pressure on employers in the industry to present a “significantly improved, agreeable offer” before the next round of negotiations.
25,000 private employees Security service provider
Aviation security collective bargaining concerns the working conditions of around 25,000 employees of private security service providers. On behalf of the Federal Police, they check passengers, staff and luggage at the entrances to the security area. In the state of Bavaria, these workers are employed in the public service, for which a different collective agreement applies.
According to estimates by the airport association ADV, around 1,100 flights were canceled during the first wave of warning strikes on February 1st at eleven larger airports because passengers could no longer get into security areas.
Five so far rounds of negotiations without a result
In order to emphasize their demands, the ver.di union also called for work stoppages at the airports in Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg on March 7th. The employees at the personnel and goods checks at Cologne/Bonn Airport also went on strike. This should particularly affect freight traffic.
So far, five rounds of negotiations in the collective bargaining dispute have failed to produce any results. Ver.di is calling for an hourly wage increase of 2.80 euros over a period of twelve months, with overtime bonuses starting more quickly from the first hour of overtime. According to their own information, the employers from the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS) have offered 2.70 euros in three stages with a term of 24 months.
Strikes could be expanded
In addition to compensating for inflation, this also means an increase in real wages, explained BDLS negotiator Frank Haindl. A sixth hearing is scheduled for March 20th. According to ver.di negotiator Wolfgang Pieper, employees are ready to increase the pressure on employers. The strikes could be expanded.
This is just one of several tariff disputes in air transport in Germany at the moment. Most of them concern Lufthansa and its passengers. Among other things, the conflict with ver.di among Lufthansa ground staff and with the flight attendant union UFO among cabin crew remains unresolved.