Lufthansa flights are facing “extensive” disruption later this week when ground staff are due to strike in a dispute over pay.
The Ver.di union said on Monday (5 February) that it was calling on 25,000 ground employees working for Lufthansa at Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin and Dusseldorf to walk out for around 27 hours from early on Wednesday (7 February).
Lufthansa said the industrial action by Ver.di would result in “extensive effects on the flight programme” on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Lufthansa strikes come as part of a wave of industrial action across Germany’s transport sector so far this year. Last week, Ver.di called a one-day strike for security workers at the country’s major airports. There was also a walkout by staff on local buses, trams and subway trains on Friday (2 February).
This followed a strike by Deutsche Bahn train drivers in January, which caused major disruption to the country’s rail services for several days. Although any further strikes in this dispute are currently suspended until early March after the two sides agreed to go back to the negotiating table.
Ver.di is seeking a pay rise of 12.5 per cent, or at least an extra €500 per month, for ground employees at Lufthansa.
Marvin Reschinsky, the union’s negotiator, said: “The employees at Lufthansa already have around 10 per cent less in their pockets than they did three years ago. Despite record profits, this situation is set to get worse with employers' offers.”
The union’s so-called one-day “warning” strike for Lufthansa ground workers will run from 4am on Wednesday (7 February) to 7.10am on Thursday (8 February).
Lufthansa said in a statement: “Customers who will be affected by an irregularity will receive information about cancellations and rebooking options today (5 February) from around 4.00pm by email or in the Lufthansa app.”