Germany Braces for Travel Disruption: Lufthansa Ground Crew Strike Set for Feb 20

Germany is set to face new travel disruption on Feb 20 due to a one-day warning strike declared by the Verdi union by Lufthansa AG ground staff.

According to the union, the strike is set to begin on Tuesday at 4 a.m. (0300 GMT) and end on Wednesday at 7:10 a.m. (0610 GMT).

Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Duesseldorf, Cologne, and Stuttgart airports are among those impacted.

According to Lufthansa’s website’s Current Travel Information, they currently anticipate a significant impact on the flight schedule. Passengers who have flights canceled will be notified via email or the Lufthansa app. They have asked for regular visits to their website from customers who have booked flights with Lufthansa for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Workers had a similar protest, a 27-hour long strike, earlier this month at five of the German airports, which started on February 7 resulted in the cancellation of several flights and affected 100,000 passengers during the period.

Verdi Union is demanding more pay. They are asking for a 12.5% pay raise for 25,000 ground staff, or a minimum of 500 euros ($544.30) per month for a full year, in addition to a 3,000 euros one-time payment to cover inflation.

Following a round of talks on February 12, there was no agreement. There will be more discussions on Wednesday.

Verdi Union’s Pay Raise Deal with Germany Government: April 2023

In April 2023, Verdi Union made a similar deal with the German government about a pay raise for the Public Workers.

The deal called for paying each employee 3,000 euros ($3,300) in tax-free one-time payments; the first 1,240 euros were to be paid in June, and the remaining 220 euros were to be paid each month until February. Then, in March, every normal monthly payment will increase by 200 euros. This was followed by a 5.5% salary increase, with a minimum increase of 340 euros guaranteed each month. The deal is good through the end of 2024.

In this deal, Verdi initially asked for a one-year deal with a 10.5% pay increase under this agreement, but after several discussions with the government, they eventually compromised. The union also called many strikes at that time, targeting public services including hospitals, municipal transportation, and other departments.

We hope that Vedi and the German government can come to a quick agreement on this deal for the ground crews of Lufthansa AG.