Disruption Warning As Lufthansa Ground Staff Set To Strike On Wednesday

BYCHARLOTTE SEET

PUBLISHED 2 DAYS AGO

The warning strike is set to worsen the woes of Lufthansa as it struggles to cope with increased demand and limited manpower

Germany's national carrier is about to face more disruptions to operations as a labor union has called on Lufthansa ground staff to conduct a one-day industrial walkout on Wednesday. While it might only be for one day, the call to strike applies to all Lufthansa bases within the country and will see tens of thousands of employees walking out on the airline over a 9.5% pay claim.

Call to action

Germany's main union Ver.di, announced on Monday that the main airports of Frankfurt, Munich, Cologne-Bonn, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, and Stuttgart would be affected by the strikes. The union, which represents some 20,000 employees of Lufthansa, said in its statement:

“Verdi is calling the one-day strike to raise pressure on the employer to make a much-improved and acceptable pay offer in the next round of talks."

The action at Frankfurt, Germany's largest airport, is scheduled to strike first from 03:30 on Wednesday till 14:30 on Thursday and will mark yet another strike at Frankfurt Airport. However, this time it is between Ver.di and Lufthansa and not the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies.

Lufthansa employees involved in ground and freight handling, administration, maintenance, and security, are all expected to participate in the industrial walkout. Away from Frankfurt, Ver.di plans for the strikes at other major airports to start from 03:45 on Wednesday and end no later than 14:00 the following day.

Strike Call by the German Union Verdi for Lufthansa Ground Staff on July, 27 2022

Due to a planned strike by the German Union Verdi, representing Lufthansa ground personnel, on Wednesday, July 27, flight disruptions and cancellations are likely to occur during the whole day also at Frankfurt Airport. Lufthansa passengers are advised to check the status of their flight prior to departure via the Internet at www.lufthansa.com.
Information regarding your flight is available on your airline’s website or by calling 01806-FRAINFO (01806-3724636 – flat landline rate of 0.20 euro cents per call; costs of 0.60 euro cents per call from a mobile network within Germany), as well as at www.frankfurt-airport.com.

Lufthansa feels pressured

The two parties are at odds in negotiations on improving salaries and working conditions for the same employees who have been called to strike. With that many employees from various ground positions involved in the planned industrial walkout, flight operations will face massive disruptions. Ver.di is well aware of this and hopes Wednesday's warning strike will further increase pressure on the German carrier.

Michael Niggemann, Member of the Executive Board Chief Officer Human Resources Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said:

"After only two days of negotiations, Ver.di has announced a strike that can hardly be called a warning strike due to its breadth across all locations and its duration. This is all the more incomprehensible given that the employer side has offered high and socially balanced pay increases – despite the continuing tense economic situation for Lufthansa following the Covid crisis, high debt burdens and uncertain prospects for the global economy."

Warning strikes are a common tactic in German labor negotiations and typically last from several hours to a day or two. Photo: Tom Boon | Simple Flying

Back to the table?

The next round of negotiations is scheduled for August 3rd and 4th, but it remains uncertain if Lufthansa will be changing or enhancing its current offerings in an attempt to avert Wednesday's strikes. Among other things, Lufthansa had previously presented a package with the following components:

At the beginning of this month, with a term of 18 months, each employee would receive:An increase in basic pay of €150 ($153.17) per month as of July 1st, 2022,
a further basic pay increase of €100 ($102.10) per month as of January 1st, 2023,
an additional 2% increase in compensation as of July 1st, 2023, depending on how Lufthansa's business develops.

Ver.di has said that these offers from Lufthansa fall considerably short of its demands, which include a 9.5% salary increase this year. The deputy chairwoman of the union, Christine Behle, highlighted the needs of Lufthansa's employees by saying:

"They urgently need more money and relief — for themselves and passengers. The employers' offer is not enough for that."

Thus far, Lufthansa has avoided industrial walkouts affecting its European rivals such as Ryanair. 

A growing burden for passengers

Considering the mass scale of disruptions across so many airports and that many employees, Lufthansa has been unable to share the estimated number of flight cancelations for Wednesday and is still working on re-planning.

Unfortunately for the Star Alliance member airline, Wednesday's cancellations will add to an already long list of flights canceled over this chaotic summer season and further dampen the joy of flying for several passengers.

Niggemann reiterated the potential significance of the walkout, commenting:

"After the enormous efforts to stabilize our flight operations, this represents a renewed, substantial, and unnecessary burden for our passengers and employees beyond the strike day."

Lufthansa is a relative stranger still to strikes when compared to some of its European rivals, such as Ryanair. However, the German national carrier could soon be getting its fair share of experience. Apart from Wednesday's upcoming industrial walkout, the pilots' union, Vereinigung Cockpit, is also currently holding a vote on whether to move forward with a call to strike on Lufthansa. Should the voters favor the strike, Lufthansa and its passengers will inevitably see more cuts to scheduled flights, further deepening the chaotic state of European summer travel.


Charlotte Seet 
Journalist - Charlotte is currently pursuing a full-time undergraduate degree majoring in Aviation Business Administration and minoring in Air Traffic Management. Charlotte previously wrote for AirlineGeeks. Based in Singapore.

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