German airport and train strikes scheduled for Thursday and Friday

The transport unions EVG and ver.di have announced that security workers at four German airports and Deutsche Bahn staff will carry out strike days towards the end of this week. In both cases, workers are asking for a pay rise in line with inflation. 

Security staff to strike at German airports from Thursday

Security staff at airports in Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Cologne / Bonn are set to conduct a warning strike (Warnstreik) this week. 

In a statement on its website, ver.di announced that the industrial action would “begin on the night from Wednesday to Thursday and end on the night from Friday to Saturday." 

The strikes are expected to cause severe disruption, longer waiting times and, in some cases, flight cancellations. At Hamburg airport all departures have been cancelled, affecting around 80.000 passengers.

Deutsche Bahn announce Friday Warnstreik

Long-distance trains and regional transport will also be ground to a halt on Friday as Deutsche Bahn workers walk out over wages. Between 3am and 11am on Friday morning, travellers and commuters will either have to find another means of transport or work from home.

After strikes at the end of March and an unsuccessful negotiations phase between ver.di and EVG-supported workers and Deutsche Bahn bosses, a further negotiation stage is planned for the coming weeks. Employees are demanding at least 650 euros more per month and employment contracts lasting at least 12 months.

In a statement, EVG representative Cosmina Ingenschay said, “We are sending a clear message that we don’t want to affect passengers but the company. This is why we are carrying out a warning strike with a time frame and in the early morning."

Thumb image credit: Yulia Reznikov / Shutterstock.com