All flights at Berlin airport cancelled for a day as workers strike over wages
2 min read . Updated: 25 Jan 2023, 02:33 PM IST
PremiumBerlin’s airport said it has cancelled all passenger flights Wednesday because of a strike organised by the Verdi union, severing the German capital from international air travel
All passenger flights at Berlin's airport have been cancelled or Wednesday due to a strike organised by the Verdi union, which represents public sector workers. This has resulted in the disruption of international air travel to and from the German capital. The strike has resulted in the cancellation of 300 takeoffs and landings, affecting approximately 35,000 passengers. Major airlines such as EasyJet and Lufthansa have been impacted by the strike.
The Verdi union has called for a strike at Berlin's Brandenburg Airport, also known as BER, over a pay dispute. The strike began at around 3:30 a.m. (0230 GMT).
A strike was called by the Verdi union in the ongoing pay dispute for airport employees working in ground services, aviation security, and at the airport company. It announced the one-day work stoppage because it claimed the three concurrent wage negotiations were not making enough progress.
In addition to higher bonuses for air security personnel who work weekends and holidays, Verdi is asking for an increase of €500 ($543) per month for ground services employees over the course of a year.
"We hope that the pressure is enough," said union representative Enrico Ruemker, adding that the goal was movement at the negotiations.
According to him, the airport company had made a 24-month collective bargaining offer, under which salaries would rise by 3% on 1 June and another 2% on 1 May of the following year.
"When you see how high the inflation rate is and consider that the colleagues from this area have not had a salary increase for many, many years, this offer is of course a slap in the face for the colleagues," Ruemker said.
The annual economic report for Germany was scheduled to be published on Wednesday. 6% inflation was predicted for this year and 2.8% for 2024 in a draft of this report, a source told Reuters.
(With inputs from agencies)