FDP Secretary General: Change the right to strike for critical infrastructure
Sunday, March 17, 00:01 hours: In view of the months-long collective dispute between the GDL train drivers' union and the railway, FDP general secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai calls for a reform of the right to strike. Especially when it comes to critical infrastructure, it is crucial “that proportionality is maintained and that excessive strike greed, as we have experienced, is avoided in the future,” he told “Bild am Sonntag.” “We need comprehensive reforms of the right to strike in the critical infrastructure sector.”
These include instruments such as mandatory arbitration, clear deadlines for strikes and the possibility of replacing negotiators, Djir-Sarai said. “We also have to talk about a general restriction of the right to strike in sensitive areas.”
The FDP politician accused GDL head Claus Weselsky of “holding the entire country hostage for months without showing any serious willingness to reach a compromise.” The economic damage is enormous. “It can't continue like this in the future.”
In the current tariff conflict with the railways, the GDL has already called strikes six times, which has seriously affected railway traffic. On Saturday it became known that the union of railway workers and machinists are negotiating again and believe that it is possible to reach a quick agreement.
Air traffic has resumed after a warning strike at six airports
Saturday March 16, 8:20 am: Following the warning strike by air security forces on Friday, air traffic has resumed at the affected airports. In Dortmund and Weeze, where there was an all-day strike on Friday, traffic returned to normal on Saturday. No delays or cancellations were reported on the websites. Some other airports had already resumed flight operations on Friday. The Verdi union had called on aviation security workers at the airports of Dortmund, Weeze, Dresden, Leipzig/Halle, Hannover and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden to go on a warning strike. A Verdi spokesman confirmed on Saturday that the strike went ahead as planned and has now come to an end. “We are very satisfied with how things have gone, also because for the first time we went on strike at some airports.”
With the warning strikes, Verdi wants to increase pressure on employers before the next round of negotiations on March 20. These concern the salaries and working conditions of around 25,000 employees of private security service providers. The Federal Police control passengers, staff and luggage at the entrances to the security area. In the five rounds of negotiations so far, Verdi and the Federal Association of Aviation Safety Companies (BDLS) have not reached an agreement. The warning strike by air security forces marks the end of a turbulent week in aviation. Warning strikes by security staff at five German airports already largely paralyzed operations on Thursday. The airports in Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden and Cologne/Bonn were affected. In the previous days, some Lufthansa flight attendants had also gone on strike.
Two weeks before Easter, a ray of hope emerges in the collective conflict among Lufthansa ground staff. They are now pursuing arbitration proceedings. Verdi believes it is realistic to reach an agreement no later than Holy Saturday.
New warning attacks by air security forces: failures expected
Friday, March 15, 7:35 am: Due to new warning strikes by air security personnel, passengers in Germany will also have to prepare for restrictions on Friday. The Verdi union called on its members to take part in warning strikes at the airports in Hannover, Dortmund, Weeze, Dresden, Leipzig and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden. Several thousand passengers are affected. On Thursday afternoon the first Hannover employees went on strike. With the warning strikes, Verdi wants to increase pressure on employers before the next round of negotiations on March 20.
Warning strikes by security staff at five German airports already largely paralyzed operations on Thursday. The airports in Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden and Cologne/Bonn were affected. As a rule, all departures were canceled because passengers and goods could no longer pass security checks. There were also numerous failures during the landings. According to estimates by the ADV airport association, more than 580 air connections were cancelled. The association expects a significantly lower number of canceled connections for Friday.
While in Dortmund and Weeze no planes are scheduled to take off throughout Friday, in Hannover there will only be a strike from midnight to midnight. Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport marked all six flights scheduled for Friday as canceled or diverted. In Dresden, according to Verdi, the warning strike should begin at 4 in the morning and end at 12 at night; in Leipzig, work should end from 6 in the morning to 6 in the afternoon.
Collective bargaining concerns the wages and working conditions of some 25,000 employees of private security providers. The Federal Police control passengers, staff and luggage at the entrances to the security area. So far there have been five rounds of negotiations in the collective dispute.
On Thursday night there was more movement in another of the current collective disputes in air transport: Verdi and Lufthansa announced that they would seek arbitration in collective bargaining for ground staff. At the same time, Verdi wants to prepare a strike vote to prepare the ground for “forced strikes.”
Lufthansa and Verdi seek arbitration procedure in collective bargaining dispute
20:04: In the collective negotiations between Lufthansa and the Verdi services union for ground staff, the negotiating partners want to reach an agreement on an arbitration procedure. Lufthansa announced on Thursday afternoon that the arbitration process should begin as soon as possible. There should be an obligation to maintain peace during mediation.
According to the company, Lufthansa and Verdi were unable to reach an agreement on a new collective wage agreement for the approximately 20,000 employees on the ground as well as for Lufthansa Technik, Lufthansa Cargo and other companies in the latest round of negotiations on Wednesday and Thursday.
Lufthansa human resources director Michael Niggemann explained that the company had presented numerous different variants and solutions over the past two days and had discussed them with Verdi. “We have come closer to a solution, but it has not yet been enough to reach a conclusion,” Niggemann explained and added: “Now together we want to clarify the open points with the help of mediation and then reach an agreement. It was agreed to maintain confidentiality regarding the content of the Discussions and the variants discussed.
Last week, Verdi called Lufthansa ground staff on a 60-hour strike, which meant the company was only able to offer between 10 and 20 percent of its flight schedule on Thursdays and Fridays.
The union is asking for a 12.5 percent wage increase for land workers, but at least 500 euros per month for a period of twelve months. In addition, there should be a one-time inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros.
Verdi once again calls Postbank employees to a warning strike
8:32 am: The union keeps the pressure high with new warning strikes ahead of the third round of collective bargaining for Postbank. This Friday and Saturday (March 15/16), branch and call center employees nationwide are once again called to strike, the union announced on Thursday. “We expect a significantly better offer from the businessmen in the next round of negotiations,” said Verdi negotiator Jan Duscheck. Negotiations are scheduled to continue on Monday (March 18) in Frankfurt/Main.
Verdi demands 15.5 percent more money for some 12,000 employees of the Deutsche Bank group with a Postbank collective agreement, but at least a salary increase of 600 euros. The German Association of Bank Employees (DBV) wants to get 14.5 percent more money for employees of the Postbank, the Postbank sales department, PCC Services and the BCB.
Due to the announcement of branch closures, Verdi is also pushing to secure long-term jobs by extending protection against dismissal until December 31, 2028. Deutsche Bank wants to close up to 250 of the 550 branches of the bank until mid-2026. Postbank and also cut staff. Shortly before Christmas, Deutsche Bank promised that it would not lay off employees for operational reasons at its private client bank in Germany until the end of September this year.
In the second round of collective bargaining on February 26, according to Verdi, employers offered a new extension of protection against dismissal until June 2026 inclusive with a total agreement duration of 29 months, as well as an increase in wages by five percent from June 2024 and another two percent from July 1, 2025.
You can read more information about warning attacks on the following pages.