Germany’s Verdi union has called on Lufthansa ground staff to strike from Wednesday in a bid to increase leverage in salary negotiations with Germany’s flagship carrier.
Verdi union says ,
The walkout at one of Europe’s largest airlines adds to a troubled summer season at airports across the continent as eased coronavirus restrictions have boosted tourism demand, but chronic staff shortages have left passengers grappling with flight disruptions, long queues and lost luggage.
The situation at the airports in Germany is currently unbearable on many days - for the employees and the passengers. But workers are not to blame for the long waits, canceled or missed flights, and missing luggage.
On the contrary: the ground handling services and security forces that remain after two years of the pandemic, including massive job cuts, are doing their best every day to keep air traffic going. But the workers are out of breath. Mainly because their employers hardly do anything to improve their situation.
In the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with Lufthansa, ver.di is therefore calling on Lufthansa ground workers on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, to an all-day warning strike at all Lufthansa locations (Frankfurt/Main, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, Berlin and others ) on.
Es ist die nächste Hiobsbotschaft für viele Reisende: #Verdi will am Mittwoch streiken und damit Druck auf die #Lufthansa im Tarifkonflikt machen. Deutschlands größte Fluggesellschaft bezeichnet den Streik als unzumutbar. @MarkusWolsiffer berichtet aus #Frankfurt. @ZDF @ZDFheute pic.twitter.com/jIeOnoiYNF
— ZDF Hessen (@ZDFhessen) July 25, 2022
Lufthansa has already canceled around 6,000 flights this summer to cope with the ongoing chaos . Representing around 20,000 Lufthansa ground staff, the Verdi union is seeking a 9.5-percent pay rise , or at least 350 euros ($360) per month. It also wants a minimum hourly wage of 13 euros.
Lufthansa had offered an increase of 150 euros per month for the rest of this year and another 100 euros more from the start of 2023, plus a 2% increase from mid-2023 dependent on the company's financial results. Verdi has rejected the offer !
ver.di is currently negotiating for the approximately 20,000 employees at Lufthansa AG Boden, Lufthansa Technik, Lufthansa Systems, Lufthansa Technik Logistik Services (LTLS), Lufthansa Cargo and Lufthansa Service Gesellschaft (LSG) as well as LEOS (Lufthansa Engineering and Operational Services GmbH).
In the second round of negotiations on July 13, the employers submitted an offer that was discussed among the ver.di members concerned in the past few days and criticized as insufficient. With the warning strike, they now want to increase the pressure on employers to submit a significantly improved, final offer in the next round of negotiations.
(1/3) Due to a planned strike by the German Union Verdi, representing Lufthansa ground personnel, on Wednesday, July 27, flight disruptions and cancellations are likely to occur during the whole day also at FRA. pic.twitter.com/jIYDF79h6R
— Frankfurt Airport (@Airport_FRA) July 25, 2022
Deputy ver.di chairman Christine Behle points to an "extremely problematic situation" for the employees , "which was mainly caused by mismanagement".
At Lufthansa, there is a lack of staff and workers everywhere. During the pandemic , the management underestimated the massive increase in demand since Easter . CEO Carsten Spohr has now acknowledged the mistakes and apologized.
Since all ground workers, including Lufthansa Technik responsible for maintenance and the LEOS employees who use pushback vehicles to ensure that the aircraft are pushed back into the appropriate positions, are called on to go on warning strike, there will be major flight cancellations and delays come.
The deputy ver.di chairman Christine Behle, who is also the negotiator, asks the passengers for their understanding and points out the extremely problematic situation of the employees, which was mainly caused by mismanagement.
ver.di is therefore informing you early on about the upcoming warning strike so that passengers can prepare for it and possibly reorient themselves. ver.di has set up a special page for passengers .
The union says management’s offer so far “does not come close to compensating for inflation” which stood at 7.6 percent in Germany last month. Lufthansa ground staff “urgently need more money and they need relief, for themselves and for the passengers”, said Verdi vice-president Christine Behle. “The employers’ offer is not enough.”
"The employees, who are exposed to enormous pressure every day, waited for a strong signal in the second round of negotiations that could have resulted in a good result," says Behle.
The situation at the airports is escalating; the overburdening of employees due to a significant shortage of staff, high inflation and a three-year wage cut would put the employees under increasing pressure. “They urgently need more money and they need relief – for themselves and for the passengers. The employer's offer is not sufficient for this," said the trade unionist.
There is currently a shortage of more than 7,000 employees in Germany’s aviation sector , the IW economic institute recently calculated . Many airport workers found jobs in other sectors when travel demand collapsed during the pandemic, and they have not returned now that tourism has bounced back.
On July 13, the employers submitted three variants of an offer, each consisting of fixed amounts and a result-related component (as of July 1, 2023). The term should be 18 months in all three variants. During the negotiations, the employers also expressed their wish for more flexible working hours.
The offer does not even come close to compensating for inflation, and in view of the current price increases, this would mean a significant loss of real wages for employees, according to Behle. In addition, the earnings-related component in particular is a blank check for an uncertain future for employees. This puts the risk on the employees.
In addition to the ver.di demand for 9.5 percent more salary, but at least 350 euros per month, with a term of twelve months, the hourly wage for the respective employee groups should be at least 13 euros. LTLS and Lufthansa Cargo currently have hourly wages of less than 12 euros. It is also important, even after the minimum wage has been raised to twelve euros, to agree on a collective bargaining distance from the minimum wage.
To make matters worse, there is now an extremely high level of sick leave among the ground staff - due to numerous corona cases in the workforce. Another factor is thousands of frustrated passengers who take their anger out on the Lufthansa people.
Verdi union has called on the Lufthansa passengers to support the cause ,
The next round of negotiations will take place on August 3rd and 4th, 2022 in Frankfurt am Main. Passengers who want to support the employees can do so by asking Lufthansa to move in the negotiations, for example by email to: kontakt@agvl.de
