There have also been flight cancellations at the largest airports in NRW in recent weeks due to warning strikes.
(Photo: IMAGO/kolbert-press)
Berlin Air travelers have to be prepared for significant delays and cancellations at several airports in Germany on Monday. The union has called on security personnel to go on warning strikes at the capital’s BER airport and at the airports in Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen. Longer waiting times and even flight cancellations are to be expected, Verdi said on Saturday. According to BER, around 200 departures will be canceled in Berlin. About 27,000 passengers are affected.
According to the union, the background to this is the hitherto unsuccessful collective bargaining for appropriate payment for aviation security employees for work at inconvenient times. According to its own statements, Verdi has been in negotiations with the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS) for years. But local negotiations for employees of the ground handling services and employees of the public sector at the federal and municipal level also played a role, it said.
Verdi says it has been in negotiations with the BDLS for years. The surcharges have not been improved since 2006, and there has been talk of an increase since 2013, emphasized Verdi. It was most recently agreed in early 2019 to continue negotiations on this. According to Verdi, they were recorded in January and continued in February 2020. Because of the pandemic, the talks were not continued by the BDLS.
According to Verdi, the BDLS was only ready to negotiate the demands after a new agreement in the 2022 pay scale round. The employers have not yet submitted an offer. There was initially no comment from the federal association.
At Hamburg Airport, Verdi called around 2,000 employees to a 24-hour warning strike at the start of the night shift on Sunday around 10 p.m. There had already been a 24-hour warning strike at the airport in mid-February. According to the airport, 253 flights and around 32,000 passengers were affected.
Union demands 500 euro wage increase
At the capital’s BER airport, the warning strike is scheduled to begin at 3:30 a.m. on Monday morning and end at midnight. Verdi expects around 300 participants. At the airports in Hanover and Bremen, it can be assumed that passenger planes will not be able to take off or land on the day of the strike.
On Friday there were long queues at Munich Airport due to public service warning strikes. Baggage control staff stopped work for five hours. However, only a few flights were cancelled.
The union is demanding 10.5 percent more wages, but at least 500 euros more per month, for around 2.5 million employees in the federal and local public services nationwide. The employer side has so far offered five percent more money in two steps and one-off payments of 2500 euros. The third round of negotiations is scheduled for March 27-29 in Potsdam.
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