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Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
You can forget taking a flight to Germany today
It's a bad day to try to take a flight to or from Germany. A mass strike has caused huge disruption at the country's airports on Monday. 94% of flights were canceled at Frankfurt Airport, the country's busiest, a German news agency said. Hundreds of thousands of passengers are facing disruption due to a strike in Germany, which has led to almost all flights at the country's busiest airports being canceled Monday. The 24-hour walkout began at midnight on Monday and immediately caused mass disruption. At Frankfurt Airport, the country's busiest, 94% of the day's 1,116 scheduled takeoffs and landings have been canceled, the German news agency dpa reported. "There will be massive disruptions at Frankfurt Airport all day today," its website says, adding that passengers should not travel to the airport. Munich Airport expected operations to be "severely disrupted," while Berlin Brandenburg Airport said it will have no regular flights. According to data from Cirium, 108 flights are scheduled between Germany and the US on Monday, accounting for over 31,000 seats. On Friday, the service workers union called on public-sector employees and ground and security staff to go on strike. It also targeted airports in Hamburg, Bremen, Hanover, Düsseldorf, Weeze, Dortmund, Cologne/Bonn, Leipzig/Halle, Stuttgart, and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden. Jens Ritter, the CEO of flag carrier Lufthansa, said in a Sunday LinkedIn post that he was "stunned and really worried." "What Verdi calls a 'warning' strike is again bringing air traffic to a halt," he added, and called for "cooperation instead of confrontation." A warning strike is a common tactic in German labor negotiations. Monday's action relates to two separate disputes — one for airport security workers and a wider one for public-sector employees. said negotiations for the more than 2.5 million federal and local government employees across Germany will continue on Friday. It is calling for an 8% pay increase with a minimum increase of 350 euros ($380) a month, plus higher bonuses for stressful shift work and three more days off. For aviation security workers, the union wants better occupational health and safety, 30 days of holiday, an annual bonus increase, and other bonuses. also wants restrictions on fixed-term contracts, saying that most aviation security specialists are hired on 24-month contracts, many of whom are then replaced by newly trained employees. "Public employers should know that we are assertive. This will be made clear again in the coming days," said chairman Frank Werneke on Monday. Read the original article on Business Insider
Local Germany
19-02-2025
- Business
- Local Germany
Germany to face nationwide public sector strikes after pay talks fail
According to the Verdi trade union, the 'warning' strikes will happen throughout the country and will be held over the coming weeks. They will likely affect a range of public services, from waste disposal to nursery schools and public transport. Up to this point, strike action has been targeted in different regions of Germany. It follows two days of collective bargaining talks in Potsdam between employers and unions earlier this week. Verdi and the smaller dbb Civil Servants' Association have been trying to fight for better pay on behalf of around 2.5 million local and federal government workers. The demands include an eight percent pay rise and extra vacation days. But so far this has been rejected by government negotiators. Due to the stalemate, Verdi boss Frank Werneke said industrial action would be extended. "There are no concessions on the subject of pay rises, improvements to working conditions or relief," he said, adding that that the deadlock sent a "fatal signal to employees and citizens". Volker Geyer, chief negotiator for the dbb civil servants' association said demonstrations were on the way. "We will be organising warning strikes and protests throughout the country over the next three weeks," said Geyer. "There is obviously no other way to get the employers out of their blockade." No further details on the planned action has been provided at this stage. It comes amid a wave of industrial action across Germany during collective bargaining. On Thursday, people in Berlin will see a 48-hour warning strike called by Verdi on public transport run by the state operator BVG. Most buses, the U-Bahn and the tram network come to a standstill. Buses of Berlin's BVG transport company stand in a depot in Berlin during a previous strike. One of Germany's biggest unions, Verdi, called for a warning strike on Monday the 27th. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP) What are the unions demanding? In view of the higher cost of living, the employee side is demanding an eight percent increase in income, or at least €350 more per month for employees per month plus three additional days off. There are also calls for at least €200 extra per month for trainees and higher bonuses for people doing particularly stressful jobs that involve shift work, such as in the healthcare sector. The unions say the high cost of living and rising inflation justifies their demands. However, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), who is leading the negotiations on the employer side, has previously said there is a "tense" financial situation at the federal and local government level. But Faeser said she was "confident" that an agreement would be reached "in the third round of negotiations". She said: "We want to find appropriate and fair solutions for the federal government and local authorities as well as for public sector employees." The next round of talks is scheduled for March 14th-16th.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Yahoo
Munich mother and daughter dead after suspected car ramming attack
A 37-year-old woman from Munich who sustained severe injuries in a car ramming earlier this week has died, the Bavarian State Office of Criminal Investigation said on Saturday. A 2-year-old, her daughter, died of injuries sustained in the attack, officials said shortly beforehand. Police said at least 39 people were injured on Thursday when a 24-year-old Afghan drove his car into a demonstration organized by the verdi trade union. The driver is in custody and investigations continue. Tributes paid Verdi boss Frank Werneke expressed his deep shock at the death of the mother and daughter. He said the woman was a colleague who joined the demonstration with her child. "The grief over the suffering of the victims of the Munich attack is almost immeasurable," he said. Munich Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter said the woman was a municipal employee. "She and her daughter were murdered when she took to the streets for her trade union rights. The pain cannot be put into words," Reiter said. Bavarian state premier Markus Söder took to X, saying, "All of this hurts so much and is so senseless. The whole of Bavaria is in mourning." German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the scene of the crime, laid a rose and demanded the toughest penalty for the attacker. "Things like this should not happen," Scholz said. "Anyone who does something like this must expect the harshest penalties." He said anyone who does not have a right of residence must leave the country at the end of their sentence. Scholz also thanked rescue and emergency services staff. "We must all stand together now and ensure that our country sticks together," he added. Investigations continue Investigators currently assume the offence had an Islamist background. The driver is in custody. The suspect, an Afghan citizen, admitted during questioning to intentionally accelerating into the march, said Gabriele Tilmann, the chief public prosecutor for Munich's Central Office for Combating Extremism and Terrorism (ZET). She cited police testimony that the driver shouted "Allahu Akbar" - Arabic for "God is greatest" - after the attack as evidence of a possible Islamist motive. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office took over the investigation on Friday evening. "It is suspected that the offence was religiously motivated and is to be understood as an attack on the free democratic basic order" of Germany, the authority said. The man last resided in Germany legally. According to a court judgement against the rejection of his asylum application from October 2020, he is said to have lied about his escape story. But Munich city issued a toleration decision in 2021 and issued the man a residence permit. A week before Germans are due to vote in snap national parlilamentary elections, lawmakers are divided over how to respond.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Yahoo
Trade union shocked after suspected attack on rally in Munich
The head of the German trade union verdi has said the union is "deeply saddened and shocked" after a car ploughed through the rear end of a verdi rally in Munich, injuring at least 28. "Our thoughts are with the innocent victims and injured, as well as their relatives," verdi chairman Frank Werneke said. It was initially unclear whether the suspected attack was connected to the demonstration, which was part of a nationwide strike by public sector workers amid collective bargaining talks. The suspected driver has been identified as a 24-year-old Afghan citizen who had applied for asylum in Germany, according to Munich police. According to verdi, up to 1,000 people took part in the rally. The demonstration was immediately cancelled following the car-ramming incident, the trade union said.
