BREAKING

Airports, railways workers set to go on nationwide strike in Germany

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
7 Mar 2024 13:05
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The strikes are expected to affect 200,000 Lufthansa airline travelers across most of Germany's airports.

A man stands in an empty terminal of the Franz Josef-Strauss airport in Munich, southern Germany, during an early strike on March 26, 2023. (AFP)

Germany will witness nationwide strikes this week, which will disrupt almost all transportation hubs and facilities, including airports.

Lufthansa, Germany's top airline, said that it is "expecting extensive effects on the flight program," with 200,000 passengers likely to be affected and 1,000 flights per day canceled similar to previous strikes, local news agency dpa reported.

The strikes, which will start on Wednesday and end on Saturday, are the third this year to affect Lufthansa's flights to this extent, and will impact almost all of the country's airports.

Regional and national trains will face strikes from Thursday to Friday, the GDL union announced, adding that rail travel will be "unreliable", and strike times might change at the last minute so operators would not be able to plan in advance.

The union has been calling transport companies to decrease weekly work time from 38 hours to 35 without a pay cut, but Deutsche Bahn (DB) refused the request, leading to ongoing disputes for the past months.

Ver.di: 12.5% pay raise or €500/month

Meanwhile, the Ver.di union is requesting a 12.5% pay raise for transport workers, or a minimum of €500 more per month. The union laborers include staff working in check-ins, aircraft operators, maintenance, and freight.

Marvin Reschinsky, the chief negotiator for German union Ver.di, stated that the strikes are occurring at a time when workers are earning barely above the minimum wage, while Lufthansa is boasting its high profit margin.

"Nobody can understand that this company will be announcing record annual results this week, that bonuses for board members will be increased substantially, and that ground employees with hourly wages of €13 in some cases no longer even know how to make ends meet in Germany's most expensive cities," he said in a statement.

Through the warning strike, the trade union aims to escalate pressure on Lufthansa ahead of the scheduled fifth round of collective bargaining on March 13 and 14.