Deutsche Lufthansa on Wednesday, the 27th of July, cancelled more than 1,000 flights and disruptions were created among travellers as ground staff backed down their tools to join an ongoing labour strike at Germany’s largest airline.
The strike was called for by the labour union, Verdi, which was to run from the morning hours of Wednesday till Thursday 0600HRS. The main issue for the strike was the 9.5% pay rise for the 20,000 ground staff working at the airport. They further warned of more industrial actions to be put on the table if their demands were not met.
Lufthansa amongst other airlines has cancelled 1,000s of flights due to the strike and shortage of staff. This has resulted to the travellers getting frustrated who were eager to enjoy their summer vacations and long queues developing in major airports.
A report from Lufthansa stated that a sad day for the holidaymakers who could not catch their flights due to the walkout by the staff and added that it was not necessary and out of order’.
Most travellers found themselves stranded in Frankfurt on Wednesday when their flights were cancelled. They were told that they would be rebooked the following day but nobody was there to give them the way forward. They did not know where to go next or even where they would sleep.
Verdi & Lufthansa Talks Made Little progress since June.
In the month of June, Verdi demanded a 9.5% pay rise or at least 350 euros more per month for a year for around 20,000 workers. The union said the workers have been affected by the inflations and getting overworked due to staff shortages at the airport.
Lufthansa on the other hand offered 150 euros per month for the rest of this year and 100 euros more at the start of the year 2023 and a 2% increase mid-next year dependent on the company’s finances. This was turned down by Verdi stating that it was not enough considering the 8.2% inflation that hit Germany in June.
Marvin Reschinsky of Verdi stated that ‘if at all Lufthansa becomes stubborn in the coming week and do not better their offer, they would consider further industrial actions. Verdi and Lufthansa already held two meetings of wage negotiations, a third meeting is set to be held on the 3rd and 4th of August.
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