German trade union organises another mass airport strike

The ver.di trade union called for all members who work as private security staff at eight German airports to strike on March 22 following disputes over wages. Germany’s busiest airport, Frankfurt Airport, has warned of major cancellations and disruptions as a result of the strike.

Security staff strike at eight of Germany’s biggest airports

On Monday, the ver.di trade union called on security staff working at eight of Germany’s biggest airports to hold a one-day strike on Tuesday. The call to strike comes after four rounds of talks, in which the union is trying to secure pay increases for its workers, and marks the second Tuesday in a row where airport staff have walked out of their jobs.

Germany’s biggest airport, Frankfurt Airport, has already announced it will be affected by the strikes, warning passengers of major disruptions and cancellations. The airports in Berlin, Bremen, Hannover, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart and Cologne / Bonn will all also be affected by the strike.

Dispute over pay set to continue this week

The ver.di union is demanding that employers raise the salaries of some 25.000 airport security staff in Germany by at least 1 euro an hour for the next 12 months, as well as comparable wages for staff in other parts of the country. BDLS, a German aviation security industry and employers association, has argued that the ver.di trade union demands amount to pay increases of up to 40 percent, something it has labelled “utopian.”

A fifth round of talks between the ver.di union and employers is scheduled for Thursday.