Verdi is calling on workers to go on strike at airports on Friday

The United Services Union (ver.di) has called on airport workers for a day-long strike on Friday 17 February. The strike begins in the early hours of Friday morning and ends Friday night. The background is on the one hand the negotiations for employees in the public sector at the federal and local level, on the other hand local negotiations for employees in ground handling services and the nationwide negotiations for employees in aviation security. Collective bargaining is currently being conducted for all three employee groups.

The airports in Frankfurt/Main, Munich, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Dortmund, Hanover and Bremen are affected by the strikes .di Chairwoman Christine Behle.

“There is still a catastrophic labor shortage among ground handling workers – travelers felt this very clearly last summer. In order to change this situation, they must be given an attractive wage increase,” said Behle. "And the employees of aviation security are entitled to an increase in the surcharges in the collective agreements. Employers have so far refused to accept this legitimate demand.”

Due to the strike, delays, cancellations and even the partial standstill of air traffic can be expected to have a strong impact, especially in domestic air traffic. Behle campaigned for the understanding of the passengers, who would unfortunately be affected by a strike. In order to provide relief, ver.di announced the strike early this Wednesday morning. So many travelers could fall back on alternative options.

Furthermore, the deputy ver.di chairman pointed out that aid deliveries to Turkey and Syria were exempt from the strike - ver.di would offer employers emergency service agreements. Many aid deliveries would also be made via the THW's center for foreign logistics in Mainz. Hahn Airport, which is not affected by the strike, is used primarily for this purpose.