New warning strikes on city buses in Schleswig-Holstein
Saturday, March 23, 2024, 10:50 a.m.: In Kiel, Lübeck, Neumünster and Flensburg city buses will again remain at the station at the weekend. The reason is a new warning strike in bus transport in the four independent cities since Friday afternoon, called by the Verdi union. “In Kiel, Flensburg and Lübeck all buses are on their way to the stations,” Verdi spokesman Sascha Bähring told the German Press Agency on Friday.
In Neumünster, however, urban transport announced an emergency schedule on Friday. On Saturday, buses will leave the station every hour on most routes from 9 am to 3 pm. However, lines 8 and 9 are canceled there. The company Kieler Verkehrsgesellschaft (KVG) informed passengers on its website that no KVG buses will run until the night bus lines end around 4:45 a.m. on Monday.
In addition to the introduction of a 35-hour week, Verdi calls for the length of shifts to be limited to a maximum of ten hours. A minimum rest period of twelve hours is also required. The duration of the agreement must be twelve months. Collective bargaining between transport companies in independent cities will continue on Wednesday.
warning strike on local Saxon transport on Friday
Friday, March 22, 6:58 am: On Friday there will be another warning strike at the local public transport company in Saxony. The Verdi union called employees in Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz, Plauen and Zwickau to an all-day strike. The reason for the resumption of the warning strike in a statement on Wednesday was the lack of recognition of the employees' work by the Association of Municipal Employers (KAV) of Saxony during collective bargaining.
The collective bargaining dispute has to do with the collective agreement, which mainly regulates the working conditions of employees. Verdi calls for, among other things, an increase in the right to vacation, the introduction of hourly bonuses for working on Saturdays or bonuses for overtime. KAV Sachsen had canceled a round of negotiations scheduled for the end of February 28. The new date took place on March 19.
The three-day warning strike of the VHH bus company begins
Thursday, March 21, 8:30 a.m.: The 72-hour warning strike of the Hamburg-Holstein transport company (VHH) began as planned on Thursday morning. A Verdi spokesman said no buses had left the stations at the start of service that morning. The VHH announced Wednesday that passengers would have to prepare for “massive restrictions on all nearly 170 bus routes” on Sunday morning.
The VHH serves many bus routes in the Schleswig-Holstein area surrounding the Hanseatic city. This affects numerous travelers from the Hamburg metropolitan area. A VHH spokeswoman said this morning that the effects would also be clearly felt in Hamburg. The bus company operates, among others, the important Hamburg bus lines 3, 15, 21 and 29. The VHH night buses are also affected. According to the information, Ahrensburger Busgesellschaft mbH, a subsidiary of VHH, is not affected by the strike.
The Verdi union has called on some 2,500 employees of the bus company to carry out a three-day warning strike in the context of the conflict over a new collective agreement. Due to a technical failure, the VHH could not be contacted by phone or email in the morning. There is no special hotline for the warning strike, a spokeswoman said. It is best for passengers to contact the Hamburger Verkehrsverbund (HVV) hotline at 040 19449, the company said. The HVV app is also up to date.
UFO: Talks about Lufthansa cabin crew have so far come to nothing
Wednesday, March 20, 9:02 am: Lufthansa and the UFO flight attendants union continue to fight for a collective bargaining agreement for cabin crew. “There are problems with money and duration,” UFO president Joachim Vázquez Bürger said Wednesday when asked after a two-day round of negotiations. Negotiations should continue. “But at the moment it is not clear whether there will be an agreement before Easter.”
The UFO union had essentially demanded 15 percent more money for an 18-month contract period for Lufthansa's approximately 18,000 cabin employees and the nearly 1,000 employees of regional subsidiary Lufthansa Cityline. The union also wants to get an inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros and higher benefits. Last week, Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cityline flight attendants at Frankfurt and Munich airports stopped working for one day each. Tens of thousands of passengers were affected.
The sixth round of negotiations for air security staff at airports between the Verdi union and private air security companies will begin on Wednesday following last week's wave of warning strikes. The collective labor dispute of the approximately 25,000 Lufthansa employees on the ground has also not yet been resolved. The Prime Minister of Thuringia, Bodo Ramelow, and the former director of the Federal Employment Agency, Frank-Jürgen Weise, will mediate here.
Voting begins on indefinite strikes at Lufthansa
12:06 pm: In the context of the collective dispute among Lufthansa ground staff, the Verdi union began voting on indefinite strikes on Tuesday. The rush of members was enormous, said Verdi negotiator Marvin Reschinsky. The Prime Minister of Thuringia, Bodo Ramelow, and the former director of the Federal Employment Agency, Frank-Jürgen Weise, will mediate the conflict. “However, if arbitration does not produce a result that employees can accept, it can be assumed that there will be forced strikes,” Reschinsky said. A forced strike is an indefinite strike.
The arbitration is scheduled to begin next Monday (March 25) and end no later than Maundy Thursday (March 28). This is intended to avoid strikes during Holy Week. During mediation a duty of peace must be applied.
Verdi charges 12.5 percent more for the approximately 25,000 grounded Lufthansa employees over a twelve-month period, while the company had previously offered 10 percent over a 28-month period. An inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros is comparatively indisputable. More recently, hundreds of Lufthansa flights were canceled in this area due to a warning strike organized by Verdi.
Ford supplier employees accept collective social agreements
Tuesday March 19, 6:31 am: Employees of five companies in the supplier park of the American car manufacturer Ford Saarlouis voted on Monday by a large majority in favor of accepting the negotiated collective social agreements. In four companies, employee approval was between 90 and 100 percent, and in one it reached a good 77 percent, according to the second representative and negotiator of IG Metall Völklingen, Ralf Cavelius, told the German Press Agency. .
After days of negotiations, IG Metall and the suppliers reached an agreement on Sunday night. “It is an excellent result,” Cavelius said on Monday, stressing that this is also due to the great solidarity among employees.
On Friday a week ago, the union called approximately 500 company employees to an indefinite strike. After four days of strike, there was a pause to renegotiate until a conclusion was reached. There are now high severance packages, transfer companies and transitional arrangements for older employees, Cavelius said.
IG Metall: Results obtained with Ford suppliers
20:52: After days of negotiations, IG Metall and Ford's suppliers in Saarlouis have reached a result. “We have signed contracts with all five companies,” IG Metall Völklingen's second representative and negotiator, Ralf Cavelius, told the German Press Agency on Sunday afternoon. “And for all of us we have a result that is impressive and clearly differentiates itself from the normal problems of the social plan.”
Tomorrow, Monday, work meetings will be held in the different companies: the acceptance of the collective social agreements will be voted on, Cavelius stated. There will also be a vote to end the strike. On Friday a week ago, the union called approximately 500 company employees to an indefinite strike. After four days of strike action, the strike was called off to renegotiate.
“We actually wanted jobs, but we can't get them,” Cavelius said. “That's why we want the second best solution. “It's huge money.” There are severance packages, transfer companies and transitional arrangements for older employees. “We ask for much more. But we have clearly gotten closer to our goal,” he stated.
The reason for the contracts is the end of production in Saarlouis announced by the American car manufacturer Ford in November 2025. A social collective agreement for Ford factory employees has been in force since the end of February. The agreements include continued employment for 1,000 of Ford's 3,750 employees until the end of 2032, high compensation and bonuses, the formation of a transfer company and qualification programs. In addition, the end of production of the Ford Focus has been postponed by half a year to November 2025.
You can read more information about warning attacks on the following pages.