Four german airports will operate at a slower pace on Monday, with 351 flights canceled due to a planned 24-hour work stoppage by security checks staff, the branch union, Verdi, announced on Saturday. “We will have to expect longer waiting times and flight cancellations,” said the union, which launched the call to support demands for higher wages and improved working conditions.
The 351 flights will be canceled from BerlinBremen, Hamburg and Hanover, which should concern nearly 100,000 passengers, estimated the airport association ADV. Its chief executive Ralph Beisel denounced “abuses” of the union, the airports barely recovering from “the deepest crisis in aviation”.
An agreement for the 160,000 employees of Deutsche Post
Verdi is in negotiations with the federation of air safety companies (BDLS) to obtain “hourly increases for night work and weekends” and hopes that this strike, the third of this magnitude since the beginning of the year, will weigh. “Working 24 hours a day, seven days a week has a negative impact on family life […]. Working conditions must become more attractive so that a sufficient number of people are ready to do this work,” argued Verdi.
At the same time, the same Verdi union and the management of the German post office announced on Saturday that they had reached an agreement for the 160,000 employees of Deutsche Post which provides for an average salary increase of 11.5%, with increases of up to 20.3% for the lowest salaries. This compromise was reached after difficult negotiations marked by numerous strikes.