Fracfort airport on February 20, 2024, the day of a ground staff strike that has already affected passengers throughout Germany (AFP/Archives/Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV)
The ground staff of the leading European air transport group Lufthansa are called for a new strike from Thursday, for two days, in the main German airports by the Verdi union, dissatisfied with the state of salary negotiations.
For sectors affecting passengers, Verdi is calling for walkouts between Thursday from 4:00 a.m. until Saturday 7:10 a.m., according to a press release released Monday. Many flight cancellations are to be expected.
For the freight and technical sectors, which do not concern passengers, the walkouts will take place according to different time slots, added the union, without giving additional details.
“No one can understand that this group will announce record annual results this week (…) and that ground employees (…) no longer know how to make ends meet in the most expensive cities in Germany” , said the head of negotiations for Verdi, Marvin Reschinsky, in a press release.
Verdi is demanding salary increases of 12.5% for the workers he represents, or a minimum of 500 euros more per month.
Lufthansa’s latest offer included a larger pay increase over a longer period, but did not meet the union’s demands, according to the union. The next round of negotiations will take place on March 13-14.
Last week, Verdi had already called ground staff in certain sectors of the group to a three-day strike. However, the passenger sector was not affected.
“In recent days, we have deliberately not disrupted passenger traffic with our strikes,” recalled Marvin Reschinsky.
But the union now intends to move up a gear due to lack of progress with management. “By ignoring our request for negotiations, Lufthansa is making us understand that it will not move until the pressure increases,” explained Mr. Reschinsky.
On February 20, a one-day strike by ground staff affecting passengers had already taken place. Most Lufthansa flights were canceled at seven German airports, affecting around 100,000 travelers.
For several months, Germany has been hit by a wave of strikes in various sectors, including transport, not only at Lufthansa but also at the railway operator Deutsche Bahn.
© 2024 AFP
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