German union calls three-day Lufthansa ground staff strike
A leading labour union called on Lufthansa's ground staff in Germany to stage a walkout from Wednesday to Friday, in the latest strike to hit the country in recent weeks.
Lufthansa's pay offer in the most recent round of negotiations showed a "lack of compromise" and a deal was not reached, the Verdi union said.
Ground staff at Lufthansa's technical support and aviation training units walked out at 6 am on Wednesday and pick up work again one minute before Saturday, Verdi said.
Passengers "are not affected", Marvin Reschinsky, Verdi's lead negotiator, said in a statement, because the strike doesn't involve front-line workers.
But he warned they could join future actions.
"If Lufthansa's irresponsible behaviour continues, we regret that passengers will soon be affected by strikes again," said Reschinsky.
"Lufthansa has it in its hands to prevent this," he said.
Verdi is seeking pay rises of 12.5 percent for the workers it represents, or a minimum of €500 euros more a month.
Lufthansa's latest offer included a larger pay increase over an extended period but did not meet Verdi's demands, the union said.
The next round of negotiations will take place on March 13th and 14th.
Earlier in the month, a one-day, Verdi-led strike of Lufthansa ground staff resulted in widespread disruption to the airline's schedule.
Some 100,000 passengers were impacted by the one-day strike, which grounded between 80 and 90 percent of the airline's commercial flights.
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 shrinking purchasing power.
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Lufthansa's pay offer in the most recent round of negotiations showed a "lack of compromise" and a deal was not reached, the Verdi union said.
Ground staff at Lufthansa's technical support and aviation training units walked out at 6 am on Wednesday and pick up work again one minute before Saturday, Verdi said.
Passengers "are not affected", Marvin Reschinsky, Verdi's lead negotiator, said in a statement, because the strike doesn't involve front-line workers.
But he warned they could join future actions.
"If Lufthansa's irresponsible behaviour continues, we regret that passengers will soon be affected by strikes again," said Reschinsky.
"Lufthansa has it in its hands to prevent this," he said.
Verdi is seeking pay rises of 12.5 percent for the workers it represents, or a minimum of €500 euros more a month.
Lufthansa's latest offer included a larger pay increase over an extended period but did not meet Verdi's demands, the union said.
The next round of negotiations will take place on March 13th and 14th.
Earlier in the month, a one-day, Verdi-led strike of Lufthansa ground staff resulted in widespread disruption to the airline's schedule.
Some 100,000 passengers were impacted by the one-day strike, which grounded between 80 and 90 percent of the airline's commercial flights.
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 shrinking purchasing power.
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