Latest news with #verdi
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Yahoo
Air traffic upended in Germany as strikes hit 13 airports
Travellers in Germany faced disruptions and flight cancellations on Monday as a 24-hour strike by workers hit 13 different airports, including some of the country's busiest airline hubs. Public service workers, ground staff and aviation security staff were all called to walk off the job starting just after midnight on Monday by the verdi trade union amid two different wage disputes. The strikes will affect the Frankfurt and Munich airports, both key hubs for German airline Lufthansa, as well as the airports in Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Dortmund, Cologne/Bonn, Leipzig/Halle and Stuttgart. Security staff at two other smaller airports - the Weeze Airport near Dusseldorf and the Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport - were hit by only the aviation security strikes. In Frankfurt, Germany's busiest airport, no passenger aircraft will be able to depart on Monday, a spokesman for the air traffic management said. For Frankfurt, 1,054 of the 1,116 take-offs and landings scheduled on Monday had been cancelled, affecting a total of around 150,000 passengers. According to the spokesman, there were only a few arrivals. Air traffic at Berlin's BER airport is expected to be completely cancelled, with no take-offs or landings. Nationwide, more than 3,400 flights are expected to be cancelled and 510,000 passengers affected by the day-long strikes, according to earlier estimates from the ADV airport association. According to German air traffic control, around 6,000 flight movements take place daily at German airports, with a further 3,000 passing through German airspace. Twin pay disputes Verdi has called out public service workers and the ground staff who clean, load and refuel aircraft as part of a broader wave of public sector strikes. Further strikes in other types of facilities operated by the federal government and the local authorities are also to go ahead this week, a verdi spokesman said. The next round of pay talks, the third, has been scheduled for Potsdam near Berlin on Friday. The public sector strike at airports was joined by employees in the aviation security sector. These are people who work in passenger control, personnel, goods and freight control as well as in service areas. A new collective labour agreement is currently being negotiated for them. The next round of negotiations is scheduled for March 26 and 27. For public sector workers, verdi is demanding 8% more pay, with at least €350 ($380) per month more, as well as an additional three days of leave for a total 2.5 million government workers. Joachim Lang, head of the BDL air transport association described the strikes as disproportionate. "An entire transport section is being shut down comprehensively, and that, while airports and airlines, as well as restaurants, retail and hotels are not parties to the agreement," Lang said. "A collective bargaining conflict is being conducted on the backs of passengers, even before the next round of negotiations starts." He called for new rules governing strikes in critical infrastructure.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Strike shuts down Hamburg Airport a day earlier than planned
All flights to and from Hamburg Airport have been cancelled in response to a pay strike after services trade union verdi brought the action forward by a day without prior notice, an airport spokeswoman announced on Sunday. "The airport has been closed for this reason with immediate effect," she said. Of 144 scheduled arrivals and 139 departures on Sunday, only 10 flights had taken place in the early morning, she said. The strike called by the verdi trade union was originally to have begun with the night shift on Sunday evening and to last up to the end of the late shift on Monday. Verdi has called its members out on Monday at 13 German airports ahead of the next round of negotiations with federal and regional employers scheduled for mid-March. Only Hamburg was affected on Sunday. A verdi spokesman said the unannounced strike there was necessary to "to ensure that the effects" of the walk-offs are really felt. He accused the airport of using strike-breakers to mitigate the effects when strikes were announced in advance, as they were this time. Verdi was aware of the effects on travellers, but employers had now to make an offer, the spokesman said.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Massive disruption ahead as strikes to hit 11 German airports Monday
Workers at 11 German airports, including major transport hubs Frankfurt and Munich, are set to strike on Monday as part of an ongoing wage dispute, trade union verdi said. Public sector workers and ground staff at the Berlin airport, as well as in Hamburg, Stuttgart, Cologne/Bonn, Dusseldorf, Dortmund, Hanover, Bremen and Leipzig-Halle have also been called on to join the 24-hour industrial action, meaning operations at all major German airports will be affected. More than 3,400 flights will have to be cancelled due to the strike action, affecting some 510,000 travellers, according to an initial estimate by airport association ADV. Germany has been hit by strikes as the union tries to increase pressure on the federal government and municipalities ahead of another round of talks on a collective wage agreement covering some 2.5 million public sector workers. Verdi is demanding an 8% pay rise - worth a minimum of €350 ($365) more per month - as well as higher bonuses and three additional days off. Employers have rejected the demands as unaffordable, with both sides due to meet near Berlin for a third round of negotiations from March 14 to 16. Some 20,000 health care workers took part in industrial action on Thursday, while at least 30,000 employees at kindergartens and care facilities went on strike across the country on Friday, according to the union. Verdi said Friday's strikes were also intended to send "a clear signal" on Equal Pay Day, marked each year on March 7, and International Women's Day on Saturday, calling for "more pay equity and better working conditions" for public sector workers in social professions, which are typically dominated by women. Union calls 24-hour airport strike A large share of employees at airport operators is covered by collective wage agreements for public sector workers, meaning they could join the industrial action due to start at midnight (2300 GMT Sunday). Verdi on Friday also called on ground staff responsible for cleaning, loading and refuelling aircraft to strike for 24 hours, as the union is negotiating a separate collective agreement for the sector. Industrial action related to the ongoing wage dispute led to flight cancellations at Germany's Cologne, Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Munich airports last month. Some 800,000 passengers have faced disruptions due to the collective bargaining negotiations so far, according to industry association ADV. Public sector workers at Frankfurt Airport last went on strike in March 2023. Verdi has criticized the employer side for not presenting a new offer during a second round of talks in mid-February. "We have been forced to carry out this strike because the employers have so far not presented any offers in the current collective bargaining negotiations for public service employees and have shown no willingness to meet our justified demands," said verdi deputy chairwoman Christine Behle. She noted that the strike was announced in advance to allow passengers to make alternative travel plans. ADV managing director Ralph Beisel described the industrial action as a nightmare for affected passengers, citing "far-reaching consequences for individual mobility and economic processes." Joachim Lang, managing director at German aviation association BDL called the plans disproportionate. "An entire industry is being shut down across the board, even though airports and airlines, as well as restaurants, retailers and hotels, are not parties to the collective agreement," he said. Workers in Frankfurt have been asked to join a rally on Monday morning.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Care workers walk off the job in latest German industrial action
Workers at German kindergartens and other care facilities went on strike on Friday, the latest industrial action in an ongoing wage dispute involving public sector employees. Trade union verdi said it was expecting a strong turnout after calling for strikes in sectors dominated by female workers, including daycare centres, youth and welfare offices, hospitals and care homes. Thousands of employees walked off the job in the northern city of Hamburg, the union said, with thousands expected to join rallies in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state. Many daycare centres remained closed across Germany in an attempt by labour representatives to ramp up pressure on the federal government and municipalities before a third round of collective bargaining negotiations due to begin next week. Verdi said Friday's strikes were also intended to send "a clear signal" on the occasion of Equal Pay Day, marked each year on March 7, and International Women's Day on Saturday, calling for "more pay equity and better working conditions" for public sector workers in social professions, which are typically dominated by women.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Eleven German airports to be hit by strike action on Monday
Workers at 11 German airports, including major transport hubs Frankfurt and Munich, are set to strike on Monday as part of an ongoing wage dispute, trade union verdi said. Public sector workers and ground staff at Berlin airport, as well as in Hamburg, Stuttgart, Cologne/Bonn, Dusseldorf, Dortmund, Hanover, Bremen and Leipzig-Halle have also been called on to join the 24-hour industrial action, meaning operations at all major German airports will be affected. Germany has been hit by strikes as the union tries to increase pressure on the federal government and municipalities ahead of another round of talks on a collective wage agreement covering some 2.5 million public sector workers. Verdi is demanding an 8% pay rise - worth a minimum of €350 ($365) more per month - as well as higher bonuses and three additional days off. Employers have rejected the demands as unaffordable, with both sides due to meet near Berlin for a third round off negotiations from March 14 to 16. Some 20,000 health care workers took part in industrial action on Thursday, while employees at kindergartens and care facilities were due to go on strike on Friday. A large share of employees at airport operators is covered by collective wage agreements for public sector workers, meaning they could join the industrial action due to start at midnight (2300 GMT Sunday). Verdi on Friday also called on ground staff to strike for 24 hours, as the union is negotiating a separate collective agreement for the sector. Industrial action related to the ongoing wage dispute led to flight cancellations at Germany's Cologne, Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Munich airports last month. Public sector workers at Frankfurt Airport last went on strike in March 2023. Verdi has criticized the employer side for not presenting a new offer during a second round of talks in mid-February. "We have been forced to carry out this strike because the employers have so far not presented any offers in the current collective bargaining negotiations for public service employees and have shown no willingness to meet our justified demands," said verdi deputy chairwoman Christine Behle. She noted that the strike was announced in advance to allow passengers to make alternative travel plans. German flagship carrier Lufthansa, whose biggest hub is based in Frankfurt, as well as aviation industry association ADV, have criticized the strikes. Workers in Frankfurt have been asked to join a rally on Monday morning.
