The employees in their labor dispute a weighty argument: There is a lack of staff everywhere.
(Photo: IMAGO/Eibner)
Never before have the unions demonstrated their power so impressively as on this Monday. Public transport in Germany is largely paralyzed. There has long been talk of French conditions.
The outrage on the part of business and politics is understandable. When the railway workers’ union EVG and Verdi join forces in the labor dispute, collective bargaining conflicts that have nothing to do with each other are mixed up. This is questionable, but it is unlikely to be legally vulnerable.
>> Read here what workers should consider during the major strike on Monday
Aviation is hit particularly hard. Even without the concerted action by EVG and Verdi, the industry was hit by strikes in the past few weeks that it had no power to end itself. System partners such as the security checks are on strike. Most airports and airlines, on the other hand, have long since reached collective agreements with their unions.
Now the industry is once again the focus of controversy, and this is bitter for companies and customers alike. However, the “general strike” shows what everyone involved has to be prepared for: the balance of power on the labor market has turned – in favor of the employees. They are literally flexing their muscles and have learned that labor has become a scarce commodity.
The main thing is that cheap no longer works in aviation
Aviation has been feeling this for months. Lufthansa, for example, had to fight hard with Verdi to pay the ground staff. Here, too, it was not possible without a massive labor dispute. In the end there was a deal that secured the employees a wage increase of more than ten percent.
The employee representatives can afford the show of force. You have full backing.
Nevertheless, there is still a shortage of staff and new employees are needed. It’s difficult to find. For years there was only one credo in aviation: costs had to keep coming down. Low-cost providers like Ryanair determined the ticket prices, the effort had to follow and be adjusted.
Word got around and the industry’s image as an employer was severely damaged. Poor pay, and often for a tough job – this image still dominates today. Shooting it will take a long time. The airport operator Fraport even paid signing bonuses last year to attract applicants.
There is also a problem in the system that has not yet been resolved: the heavily fragmented tariff landscape. For example, it is difficult to explain why someone who unloads suitcases on the apron is paid differently in Baden-Württemberg for the same work than a colleague in Berlin.
>> Read also: Strikes, flight cancellations, delays – what you are entitled to as a passenger
Since 2017, the Verdi union has been trying to enforce a nationwide industry collective agreement for ground handling services. To date this has not been achieved. It was partly because of the pandemic, when all companies had other concerns.
But on the airline side there are still reservations about such a uniform collective agreement. Too much power in the hands of Verdi is feared. After all, they could then paralyze air traffic nationwide with a strike.
But now it turns out that the alternative is no better. In the last few weeks, the union has called for labor disputes at a different airport every three days, thus continuously causing upheaval.
Companies have to accept that cheaper and cheaper doesn’t work anymore – not only in aviation. Anyone who wants to offer reasonable services at reasonable prices must also pay reasonable wages.
Even if Monday’s major strike raises questions of proportionality, the criticism will roll off the unions. The employee representatives can afford the show of force. You have the full backing of the workers. This is proven not least by the growing number of members, for example at Verdi.
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