UPDATE: Travel chaos expected at German airports as security staff plan strike

According to a statement released by union Verdi on Tuesday, the strikes at Cologne/Bonn, Hamburg, and Düsseldorf are likely to commence in the night on Wednesday and run through to Friday evening.

A separate Verdi statement Wednesday confirms that those same security staff at Stuttgart Airport will work on Thursday as normal but then join in the strike on Friday.

Passengers should expect long delays at all four airports and potential flight cancellations, the union explained. 

READ ALSO: What are the chances of unlimited strikes in Germany?

The current round of strikes relates to a long-standing dispute between Verdi and the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS), which has recently recommenced following the pandemic. 

For a number of years, Verdi has been calling on BDLS to change its policies on overtime pay and pay more for shifts outside of ordinary working hours. 

In particular, it wants the employers to increase staff wages during anti-social hours, such as evening, weekend and public holiday shifts, which are often demanded of service and security staff at airports.

This would include 30-40 percent overtime pay for night shifts, 50 percent extra for Saturday shifts and up to 125 percent extra pay for working on specific public holidays.

Workers represented by Verdi have already staged several strikes at airports in February and March, in some cases leading to hundreds of flight cancellations and delays.

READ ALSO: More flights axed at airports in Germany's largest state as workers go on strike

'Disproportionate and unacceptable'

In its statement on Tuesday, the union pointed to the fact that it had held off on strikes over Easter but said talks on April 11th and 12th had not led to a solution. 

"The Verdi bargaining commission took the negotiation date after Easter as a signal that the employers wanted to finally come to a solution," said spokesperson Wolfgang Pieper. "But the hope of finally reaching an agreement was in vain."

Verdi accused the employers of "continuing to play for time" and refusing to put a reasonable offer on the table. 

"Work at airports must become more attractive in order to be able to retain aviation security professionals and attract new ones to avoid longer waiting times for holiday travellers," Pieper said. 

However, BDLS CEO Cornelia Okpara slammed the planned strike action as "disproportionate and unacceptable" and said the walkouts would hit the entirety of the air transport sector in Germany.

"The effects are disproportionate and hit the entire national economy," Okpara told The Local. "This is disproportionate and no longer acceptable."

Verdi had called the strikes despite "significant concessions" from BDLS in the last round of negotiations, she added. 

"Moreover, it completely ignores the fact that service providers, airlines and airports are just recovering from the deepest crisis in aviation. One of the association's demands is that airports, as part of the critical infrastructure, must be protected from strike escalations."

READ ALSO: Is Germany about to see an end to months of public sector strikes?

The next round of talks between Verdi and BDLS is scheduled to take place on April 27th and 28th.

Verdi is also engaged in tough negotiations with public sector employers at present and is expected to sit down with local governments on April 22nd to thrash out a potential pay deal.