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STRIKES

Could Germany soon see more airport strikes?

Narrowly averted over Easter, German airport strikes are again possible depending on the outcome of current wage negotiations among Lufthansa employees. What are their demands?

Published: 4 April 2024 17:04 CEST
File photo shows Lufthansa aircraft.
File photo shows Lufthansa aircraft. Photo: Image by Norbert from Pixabay

On Thursday, Lufthansa cabin crew union Ufo entered the next round of collective bargaining with their employer. They had entered a peace truce over the four-day Easter weekend but are now back at the bargaining table.

What are their demands? 

Ufo is calling for 15 percent more pay for the company’s approximately 18,000 flight attendants and their 1,000 colleagues at the regional subsidiary Cityline for a contract term of 18 months. 

The union also wants to land an inflation adjustment bonus of €3,000.

Lufthansa – who last month announced a doubling of its annual profits – has already announced salary increases of almost ten percent over 24 months as well as an immediate one-off payment of €3,000.

READ ALSO: Germany’s Lufthansa more than doubles profit as strikes cast shadow

Ufo last paralysed flight operations with a strike on March 12th, affecting over 200,000 passengers around Germany.

That means they have the potential to strike again, especially as Germany nears peak travel season. In May there are three long weekends on the calendar.

Could other airport staff also strike?

According to a wage agreement presented last Wednesday, the approximately 25,000 ground staff at Lufthansa are to receive salary increases averaging 12.5 percent over two years as well as an inflation compensation bonus of €3,000.  

However, the agreement is still subject to a consultation with Verdi members, who had previously voted in favour of indefinite strikes if their demands aren’t met.

This Friday will also see the start of arbitration for around 25,000 private security companies who check passengers, baggage, freight and staff at all airports around Germany – with the exception of Munich airport – on behalf of the Federal Police.

A wave of strikes

Germany has been hit by a wave of strikes the first three months of the year, affecting not only public transport but also schools and Kitas (daycares), supermarkets, doctors’ surgeries and public administration.

Deutsche Bahn reached a wage agreement with the GDL train drivers’ union last week, meaning that long-distance train travel will be strike free for at least the next couple of years.

However, other industries can and will continue to strike: on Thursday several transportation companies in eastern Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia announced strikes could occur soon due to unsuccessful negotiations, and this week Postbank, as well as regional Lidl and Kaufland supermarkets, were also hit by walkouts.

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

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EES PASSPORT CHECKS

EES border checks could undergo ‘soft launch’, UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a "soft launch" of the new EU border system – the Entry/Exit (EES) system - in October but authorities are still waiting for European Commission to confirm the start date, amid concerns over the delay of a new app.

Published: 4 May 2024 09:30 CEST
EES border checks could undergo 'soft launch', UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a soft launch of the new EU border system – the entry/exit (EES) system – on the assumption that it will go live on October 6th, ministers told a hearing at the House of Commons European scrutiny committee this week.

But the European Commission is expected to confirm the exact launch date of the new biometric checks for non-EU travellers entering the Schengen area at some point this summer, they added.

“We are very much working on a basis whereby this policy will go live on the 6th of October. It is important that we plan for that eventuality. We are expecting to hear definitively from the European Union that ‘go live’ arrangement in the summer,” Tom Pursglove, UK Minister for Legal Migration and the Border told the committee.

The parliamentary committee is conducting an inquiry on the disruptions the system will cause in the UK.

Pursglove also said that “precautionary measures” have been agreed by the EU, that will be put in place in certain circumstances after the start of EES, for example if delays at the borders exceeded a certain length of time.

Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, said that in practice this meant a “soft launch” of EES for 6 months before “a full go live”. During that soft launch EU member states and the UK could deploy flexibility measures should problems occur.

“The likelihood is, after multiple delays, that the 6th of October will proceed” and the implementation looks “very different” compared to previous scenarios considering the flexibility allowed in the first 6 months, he argued.

No details were given on what these “flexible” measures would involve however. 

READ ALSO: Your questions answered about Europe’s EES passport checks

He conceded that “a lot of work” still needs to be done but the UK “should be as ready as everybody” and “better be at front of the queue”.

App not ready

During the meeting, it also emerged that a much-anticipated app that would allow remote pre-registration of non-EU citizens subject to the checks will not be available for testing until August “at best”, prompting concerns about the EES launch date.

“You don’t need to be a sceptic about future projects to think that the provision of the app in August for going live in October is optimistic,” Opperman said.

Ministers confirmed that the app will not be ready in time for October and the committee previously stated it might be delayed until summer 2025.

The app will facilitate pre-registration, but photo and fingerprints will still have to be taken at the border in front of a guard, the committee heard.

READ ALSO: How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Several MPs asked whether the entry into operation of the EES should be delayed again if technology is not ready. But Under-Secretary Opperman said the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

The main aim of EES is to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area for a short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

The entry into operation of the system has already been delayed several times and there have been calls from certain travel companies and national authorities to delay it again.

Under the new scheme, non-EU/EFTA travellers who do not need a visa will have to register their biometric data (finger prints and facial images) in a database that will also record each time they enter and exit the Schengen area.

Instead of having passports manually stamped, travellers will have to scan them at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are concerns the extra time needed will generate long queues, especially in Dover, Folkestone and St. Pancras station in London, where there are juxtaposed French and UK border checks.

Progress in preparations

Minister Pursglove also updated MPs on ongoing preparations. He said some testing of the system will take place within days, 5 kiosks have been installed at St. Pancras station and are available for testing. “You are beginning to see the physical infrastructure appear,” he said.

Kiosks and extra lanes are also being created at the port Dover and it was agreed with the EU passengers travelling by coach will be checked away from the Eastern dock, where controls usually take place, allowing to gain space. The vehicles will then sealed and drive on the ferries.

MPs also discussed the infrastructure cost linked to the introduction of the EES. Opperman said all EU countries will have to make “huge investments” in their ports. In the UK, he argued, this will help “address problems that have existed for some time”. Because of this “massive investment”, in a few years time “Dover will be totally transformed,” he said.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

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