Trade union sees warning strike at Lufthansa as a great success
Published: Wednesday, Feb 7th 2024, 18:20
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Tens of thousands of disappointed passengers, hundreds of flight cancellations: the warning strike by ground staff at German airline Lufthansa has had a clear impact. The trade union Verdi sees the high level of participation as a great success.
With a warning strike by ground staff, the Verdi union has severely affected Lufthansa's flight operations and its passengers. Of the more than 1000 flights originally planned, up to 90 percent were canceled on Wednesday, as the company confirmed. According to Lufthansa, more than 100,000 passengers had to change their plans.
Around 7,000 people took part in the actions at the Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Berlin locations over the course of the day, reported Verdi negotiator Marvin Reschinsky. The turnout was higher than during the previous warning strike in 2022. Lufthansa again canceled around 30 departures in Munich and Frankfurt on Thursday morning, when the warning strike was due to end at 7:10 a.m.
"We should demand even more!"
At the protest meetings, technicians, counter staff and planners gave free rein to their discontent about the workload and sparsely staffed shifts. One baggage handler reported: "We have 50 percent fewer employees than before corona, but the work has remained the same. We should actually be demanding even more." Quite a few are comparing their own cash situation with the announced operating profit of around 2.6 billion euros.
"We need the increase to live, everything has become much more expensive," said one of the participants. Reschinsky accuses the management of treating its own people disrespectfully. "The two-tier society between flying personnel and ground staff must finally be ended."
Lufthansa Board Member for Human Resources Michael Niggemann faces criticism from the strikers in front of the glass Aviation Center in Frankfurt and asks for understanding that the Group urgently needs these profits for upcoming investments in new aircraft and technology.
The employees should also receive their share, the manager promises amid loud whistles. The escalation chosen by Verdi was not necessary. Niggemann recalls the agreement of 18 months ago with salary increases of up to 19 percent. The current offer would bring a further 13 percent within three years.
Verdi threatens with longer strikes
Verdi threatened longer strikes if the Lufthansa Executive Board did not significantly improve its previous wage offer for ground staff, who number around 25,000. The willingness to strike on the ground had never been so high in the past 20 years, said chief negotiator Reschinsky. The warning strike sends a clear signal to the board: "We can work longer if you ask us to."
In the wage dispute, Verdi is demanding a 12.5 percent pay rise, but at least 500 euros per month for a period of one year. In addition, there is to be a Group-wide inflation bonus of 3,000 euros. Lufthansa has offered a 13 percent pay rise and an inflation bonus for a period of three years. The next round of negotiations is scheduled for Monday.
Other negotiations are also stalling
The Federal Association of the German Air Transport Industry (BDL) attempted to de-escalate the situation. "I appeal to the unions to take a measured approach to the next round of collective bargaining," said BDL President Jost Lammers in Berlin. "The right to strike is a very valuable and important asset. It should be the last resort." Lammers has other groups of employees in mind: Negotiations are at a standstill with Lufthansa cabin crew as well as with the crews of the vacation flight subsidiary Discover Airlines.
At the Frankfurt and Munich hubs, not even half of the usual air traffic took place on Wednesday, as Lufthansa is by far the largest customer at the two busiest airports in Germany. In addition to a few Lufthansa jets, the foreign airlines not on strike, smaller Lufthansa competitors from Germany and the Lufthansa Group companies Eurowings, Swiss, Austrian and Brussels were able to take off.
At the other airports, the situation remained calm, with only connections to the Munich and Frankfurt hubs generally being canceled. In Düsseldorf, operations ran smoothly, as an airport spokesperson assured us. There were no delays or long waiting times between 06:00 and 08:00, when a particularly large number of planes usually take off.
©Keystone/SDA
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