Lufthansa airline ground staff are on strike on Wednesday to demand a pay increase.
It is a call for a strike which was strongly followed by Lufthansa employees. Ground staff at Germany’s largest airline have been on a 27-hour strike since 4 a.m. Wednesday.
A mobilization to demand a salary increase of 12.5% for around 25,000 employees.
“Lufthansa employees showed today that when an employer categorically refuses to negotiate, the situation does not change. This is why we need this strike: to make the employer move“, explains Marvin Reschinsky, spokesperson for the Ver.di union at Lufthansa.
“I regret the behavior of Ver.di, it is an escalation which was not necessary in my opinion. We are ready to increase salaries and we believe we have made a good offer with an increase in remuneration of around 13% over a three-year period“, justifies Michael Niggemann, personnel director of Lufthansa.
In Frankfurt, Munich and Düsseldorf, between 80 and 90% of flights were canceled. Around 100,000 passengers are affected by this social movement.
“It’s good to stand up for your rights, but it’s often normal people who are affected, those who saved for months for a flight that was canceled“, explain Claudia Kestel-Sanchez and Klaus Kestel, whose flight to the Dominican Republic was canceled.
Negotiations between the Ver.di union and Lufthansa management are due to resume on Monday February 12 in Frankfurt.