Security inspectors began a one-day strike at 11 of Germany’s busiest airports on Thursday, bringing departures to a virtual standstill, upsetting travel plans for an estimated 200,000 people and adding to the chaos caused by strikes in the public sector.
Airports serving Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart canceled all departures in anticipation of the work stoppage, while others – including Frankfurt airport, the largest in Germany – tried to keep some flights in the air but warned of significant delays and cancellations.
Wolfgang Pieper, negotiator for the Verdi union, which is behind the strike, said that the work of airport security staff “must remain financially attractive so that the urgently needed skilled workers can be recruited and retained”. Auditors are calling for an hourly increase of 2.80 euros, or about $3, equivalent to a 14 percent increase in starting salary.
The Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS), which represents employers, called the demands “utopian”. A 4 percent increase was offered this year, followed by a 3 percent increase next year.
Arrivals from abroad were not affected, but the one-day strike still caused headaches for a large number of air travelers, who were the last to be affected by the numerous protests in Germany in recent weeks.
With inflation easing but still a concern and the economy stagnating, the labor unrest reflects a general sense of discontent in the country, where dissatisfaction with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition government is at its highest.
Some of the public displays of anger, such as demonstrations by farmers blocking roads across the country with their tractors to protest subsidy cuts, are clearly aimed at Mr. Scholz’s government.
But other, much larger, pro-democracy demonstrations are aimed at the rising far-right that is poised to seize political power in this year’s state elections.
The one-day strike is just one of many recent labor actions that have impacted life in Germany, where unionized workers have loudly demanded higher wages. The minimum wage was raised to 12.41 euros an hour last month, but most unionized jobs pay significantly more.
There was some relief for travelers this week when train drivers agreed to return to work on Monday, ending a six-day strike a day early. The striking engineers managed to bring rail traffic to a standstill, so that only one in five intercity trains was still in operation.
On Tuesday, 5,000 doctors at university hospitals nationwide went on strike demanding better wages and working conditions.
When airport workers return to their posts on Friday morning, travelers and commuters will have to face a new hurdle: public transport workers will walk off their jobs for a few hours in protest at their wages, stopping trams, subways and buses during their morning commute , until 10 o clock
Verdi, the union leading the airport controllers’ strike, is also pushing for higher wages for ground and service staff at Lufthansa and a chain of regional airports. These workers did not strike on Thursday.
For people who had planned a flight on Thursday, Lufthansa warned of reduced service and offered train tickets to travelers who had booked domestic flights to and from Frankfurt.
Munich – Germany’s second-largest airport – and Nuremberg airports were not affected because security inspectors there have different contracts.
“In Germany we see strike announcements almost every day to the detriment of mobility and the economy,” said Ralph Beisel, managing director of the airport association ADV. “It has to stop,” he added.
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2024-02-01 12:31:28
www.nytimes.com
