There will also be strikes at Cologne/Bonn and Düsseldorf airports on Thursday

22:07: Passengers at Cologne/Bonn and Düsseldorf airports should expect significant restrictions and waiting times on Thursday. The Verdi union has called on employees in the aviation safety sector to carry out warning strikes throughout the day. Verdi announced it on Tuesday. Therefore, employees working at passenger checks, people and goods checks, cargo checks and in service areas should stop working.

In view of Thursday's warning strike, Cologne/Bonn Airport announced that major disruptions to flight operations and flight cancellations were expected. “Passengers who have booked a flight to or from Cologne/Bonn for Thursday are asked to check the status of their flight with their airline or tour operator before traveling to the airport,” he said. A total of 103 passenger flights are regularly scheduled at Cologne/Bonn Airport on Thursday: 52 takeoffs and 51 landings.

Düsseldorf Airport also advises all passengers to check with their airline or tour operator whether their flight is going as planned. “The strike will cause disruptions in air operations. “Passengers should expect flight delays and cancellations,” the airport announced Tuesday night. Around 290 takeoffs and landings are regularly scheduled for Thursday at North Rhine-Westphalia's largest airport in Düsseldorf.

According to the union, the warning strike at Cologne/Bonn Airport will begin on Wednesday afternoon at the start of the night shift at personnel and goods control, and at midnight at passenger control. This was announced by a Verdi spokesperson. In Düsseldorf, the strike begins at midnight and at passenger control around 3 in the morning. The strike is scheduled to end around midnight Friday.

According to the union, there are a total of more than 2,600 employees in the security area of ​​both airports, who are responsible, among other things, for controlling passengers, merchandise and boarding passes on behalf of the federal police and the operator. From the airport. The union estimates that about 1,100 people will be on duty Thursday.

On Thursday there will also be strikes at the airports of Hamburg, Bremen, Hannover, Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Erfurt, Frankfurt/Main and Stuttgart. Verdi is negotiating nationally with the Federal Association of Aviation Safety Companies (BDLS) on behalf of about 25,000 industry employees. No agreement has been reached in previous rounds of negotiations. The union demands 2.80 euros more salary per hour, greater functional bonuses and bonuses for overtime starting from the first overtime hour with a collective agreement valid for twelve months.

“Our goal is to sustainably compensate for the loss of purchasing power of employees. Aviation security forces work must remain financially attractive so that urgently needed skilled workers can be recruited and retained. “That is why it is necessary to compensate for the price increases of the last two years, especially those of food and energy, as well as the price increase planned for 2024 and there must be a real increase in wages,” said the Verdi negotiator. , Wolfgang Pieper.

All Thursday departures from Berlin and Hamburg canceled

Tuesday, January 30, 7:03 p.m.: Due to a warning strike by air security forces, passenger flights will not take off at Hamburg and Berlin airports on Thursday. This was announced this Tuesday by the airport companies of both cities. This means that 170 takeoffs at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) and 126 departures in Hamburg will be cancelled. The Verdi union had called on employees across the country working in passenger and freight control to go on an all-day warning strike on Thursday. This is likely to paralyze air traffic in much of Germany.

Verdi calls for warning strikes on public transport in almost the entire country on Friday

Monday, January 29, 3:07 p.m.: The Verdi union has called for all-day warning strikes on local public transport in almost all federal states next Friday. “Since collective bargaining has already taken place in all federal states and has not produced any results, now is the time to put more pressure on employers,” Verdi federal vice president Christine Behle said in Berlin on Monday. Only Bavaria is not affected by the strikes.

Passengers will once again face significant restrictions this Friday, especially at peak times. Only this Monday did the German Locomotive Drivers' Union (GDL) prematurely end its multi-day strike at Deutsche Bahn. A peace obligation now applies there until March 3. However, Verdi labor disputes are still possible in local and regional transport.

Except in Bavaria, the union is negotiating new collective agreements for public transport employees with the municipal employers' associations of all federal states in parallel. According to Verdi, collective bargaining affects more than 130 municipal companies in cities and districts, as well as a total of 90,000 employees. During the first round of negotiations last week, no solution was reached in any region.

Negotiations are taking place at the same time in all affected federal states. However, in terms of content, the demands are very different. In most countries these are so-called collective agreements. Above all, they regulate the working conditions of employees. At the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), for example, Verdi demands, among other things, longer delivery times, paid holidays and more holidays. “The burden on employees and staff shortages in public transportation have increasingly increased, and work pressure is increasing,” the union announced a few days ago. “Therefore, solutions must be found quickly to achieve relief.”

Things are more complicated in Brandenburg, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. It is also about remuneration, that is, higher salaries and wages. In Brandenburg, Verdi wants to get 20 percent more, or at least 650 euros, more for local transport workers. The duration of the collective agreement must be twelve months.

warning strike at Leipzig-Halle and Dresden airports at the beginning of the week

Sunday, January 28, 10:53 a.m.: Numerous flights are canceled at Leipzig-Halle and Dresden airports due to a warning strike at the beginning of the week. The Verdi union has called the employees of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG to a 30-hour strike starting Sunday at 6:00 p.m. “There will be severe restrictions on passenger traffic,” the airport company announced on its website. For more information on respective flight connections, passengers should contact their airline or tour operator, he said.

Most flights to and from Leipzig and Dresden on Sunday afternoon and Monday have been cancelled, as can be seen in an overview of the airports on the Internet. These included flights between Leipzig and Istanbul, Dubai, Vienna, Frankfurt and Munich, as well as connections between Dresden and Zurich, Munich, Düsseldorf and Frankfurt.

According to Verdi, collective bargaining has not yet produced any rapprochement. Negotiator Paul Schmidt explained that employee salaries were up to a quarter lower than those at other airports. The businessman offered compensation for inflation of 1,200 euros and a salary increase of 1.5 percent. However, at the same time, days off, surcharges and special payments will be canceled and the working day will be extended through a “future collective agreement” within the framework of the restructuring of the airport company. Schmidt: “That's an absolute disgrace.”

The union demands inflation compensation of 3,000 euros and a fixed amount of 650 euros more per month for all employees. This is not compatible with the company's economic situation or with the necessary restructuring processes, explained Flughafen AG spokesperson Uwe Schuhart. “Strikes that could disrupt or even paralyze passenger and freight operations will exacerbate the tense situation.”

According to the information, the strike is expected to have “serious impacts” on the entire operation, including freight traffic. According to its own data, Leipzig-Halle Airport is the fourth largest air cargo hub in Europe. According to Verdi, emergency operations have been agreed with the airport operator, for example to avoid danger to life or limb and to ensure medically important transport.

The strike is expected to last until midnight Tuesday.

Bahn and GDL want to reach a collective agreement before March

14:38: According to the information, the railway and the GDL have agreed on a peace commitment until March 3. Rates will be negotiated behind closed doors starting February 5. According to the information, the objective is to reach a collective agreement at the beginning of March. On Saturday morning it was already known that both parties were in talks again.

Now that the agreement has been reached, there is hope for a quick solution to the conflict, which has escalated for the first time in weeks. At the beginning of November, collective bargaining between DB and GDL began. After the first round, GDL boss Weselsky called a warning strike, after the second round he declared that talks had failed and initiated a strike vote. Since then, signs have pointed to escalation rather than negotiation.

You can read more information about warning attacks on the following pages.