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STRIKES

Union calls Lufthansa ground staff strike at German airports

Union Verdi called on ground staff at Lufthansa to stage a walkout on Tuesday across Germany's biggest airports, in the latest strike to plague the country in recent weeks.

Published: 18 February 2024 14:23 CET
Updated: 20 February 2024 08:06 CET
A man sleeps on a bench at Frankfurt airport during the Lufthansa strike.
A man sleeps on a bench at Frankfurt airport during the Lufthansa strike. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Boris Roessler

Verdi called on Lufthansa ground staff to stage a walkout on Tuesday across Germany’s biggest airports, with ground staff and staff in passenger operations such as those at check-in desks all involved in the walk-out. 

In a surprise move on Monday, staff at Frankfurt airport kicked off their strike earlier than planned, leading to dozens of flight cancellations after 8pm in the evening.

The industrial action at the other six airports – including Munich and Berlin – started at 4:00am on Tuesday and will end at 7:10am on Wednesday, the union said in a statement.

READ ALSO: Why Germany is being hit by strikes almost every day

More than 100,000 passengers are expected to be impacted by the walkout, said Lufthansa in a separate statement, adding that it was drawing up an alternative flight plan.

The airline’s human resource chief Michael Niggemann blasted the union’s decision, saying the action would once again “put a disproportionate burden on our guests”.

But the union said no progress had been made in negotiations on working conditions, calling the strike of 25,000 workers, including maintenance employees and airport counter staff across the company.

Among sticking points were what the union said were an overly low pay offer made to the staff in comparison to other employee categories such as pilots.

“While the company is offering pilots with annual basic wages of up to €270,000 ($298,000) raises reaching two digit figures, ground staff are unable to break even given the inflation of the last years,” said Verdi’s lead negotiator Marvin Reschinsky.

The union added that it expected major flight disruptions over the walkout.

The tail of an airplane belonging to the German carrier Lufthansa is seen poking out from a hangar door at Munich international airport

The tail of an airplane belonging to the German carrier Lufthansa is seen poking out from a hangar door at Munich international airport. Photo: Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP

“We don’t want this escalation. We want a quick result for employees and passengers,” said the union, which is seeking pay rises of 12.5 percent, and a minimum of €500 more a month.

READ ALSO: Should Germany expect further airport strikes in weeks ahead?

Lufthansa has offered to raise wages by four percent in December before another 5.5 percent increase in February 2025.

It has also said it would pay a €3,000 inflation bonus to each worker.

The next round of negotiations will take place on February 21st.

Germany has been hit by a spate of strikes across varying sectors including transport, the civil service and supermarkets.

Pinched by inflation over the last years and in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, workers are demanding higher wages to cope with the cost of living.

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SCHOOLS

Teachers in Berlin urged to strike on Wednesday

Germany's classrooms are overcrowded amid a shortage of teachers across the country. A Berlin union has called for a walkout on Wednesday, after officials failed to respond to requests to negotiate on the topic.

Published: 21 May 2024 11:57 CEST
Teachers in Berlin urged to strike on Wednesday

The Education and Science Union (GEW) is calling for a teachers’ strike in Berlin on Wednesday, May 22nd.

The strike comes as the latest in a long series of teachers’ strikes in response to class sizes that have grown too large. As in years past, opponents to the strike have voiced concern that it may disrupt Arbitur examinations at some schools. Classes are canceled at some affected schools.

Speaking to Tagesspiegel on Monday, state student spokesman Aimo Görne called the strike “a disappointment”, and suggested that he had hoped a strike might come outside of the examination period this year. 

The GEW, however, suggests that the need for disruptive action is clear. 

What is the strike for smaller classes about?

GEW Berlin wants to achieve smaller class sizes in state schools.

Anne Albers, chief negotiator of GEW Berlin said in a statement published on the group’s website: “[Education workers] in the schools suffer every day with poor working conditions. Currently, more than 3,500 Berlin school classes are overcrowded, even by the standards of the Senate Administration.”

She added that the GEW’s demands can be met with “good political planning”.

Wednesday’s strike was announced one month prior, after Berlin’s Finance Senator did not respond to a renewed request for negotiations on the topic of classroom sizes.

Germany has suffered a growing shortage of teachers and school staff in recent years – an issue that is exacerbated by poor working conditions for teachers in overcrowded classrooms, as well as relatively low compensation.

Research by Robert Bosch Stiftung found that two-thirds of Germany’s part-time teachers would be willing to work more if their work would be fully compensated. Often teachers are only fully compensated for teaching hours, while necessary work done outside of the classroom (such as training, meetings and communication with parents) is under-estimated and underpaid.

READ ALSO: German part-time teachers ‘prepared to increase hours’ to combat staff shortages

The GEW’s strike on Wednesday also concerns other social workers in public schools. Along with reducing classroom sizes, the GEW demands that a ratio of school psychologists to students be set.

Is solidarity for striking teachers falling?

There have been 17 strike days for smaller classes in Berlin since 2021 – the latest strike lasted for three days in October of 2023.

While relevant agencies, along with parents and other school staff, were initially largely supportive of striking teachers, it seems that some are growing tired of the ongoing walkouts.

Guido Richter, co-chairman of the Berlin Primary School Principals’ Association, told Tagesspiegel that the GEW’s goal was “correct in perspective, but illusory at the moment”. He added that schools where teachers strike end up losing lessons. 

It’s hard to imagine how classroom sizes can realistically be reduced in the short term as the shortage of teachers has only grown more severe in recent years. But the GEW has published a 15-point plan on the topic, which it believes could help reduce Germany’s teacher shortage.

The plan’s points include: increasing compensation for teachers and pay raises for trainees, recognising foreign teachers’ qualifications, more IT and administrative support, and expanding the number of teacher training courses, among others.

But while the fact that Germany’s classrooms are overcrowded is largely agreed, whether or not striking helps is not.

Even among GEW members, it seems the tactic of warning strikes is somewhat controversial. In the last round of strikes, only one in 10 salaried teachers reportedly walked out.

READ ALSO: School drop-outs rise across Germany as resources and teachers spread thin

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