Verdi has called for a one-day warning strike at 11 German airports, set to begin at midnight on Monday and last until 11:59 pm. The affected airports are Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Hannover, Bremen, Hamburg, Berlin-Brandenburg and Leipzig-Halle.
According to Verdi, the strike is necessary because the employers have not presented any offers and shown no willingness to fulfill the employees’ legitimate demands in the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations for the public sector.
The background of the strike is the ongoing collective bargaining conflict with the federal government and municipalities, with the next negotiation round scheduled for mid-March. In the past, employees in care and nursing homes, as well as in kindergartens and other social institutions, have gone on strike.
Verdi is demanding an eight percent salary increase, at a minimum of 350 euros more per month and higher bonuses for working at inconvenient and tiring times. The union also wants a 200-euro monthly increase for trainee wages and a three-day additional holiday.
The Lufthansa and the Airports Association (ADV) have already criticized the strikes at the key points of the transportation infrastructure, stating that two-day strikes that disrupt international air traffic in major metropolitan regions have nothing to do with warning strikes anymore.