Germany: Public sector strikes in NRW to hit major airports

A series of so-called warning strikes in the public sector in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) on Monday is set to cause major disruption in the region's two biggest international airports, as well as affecting local public transport, day care facilities and other local services. 

As of Sunday, Düsseldorf International Airport was reckoning with roughly 200 canceled or postponed departures or arrivals. It said that some flights would be postponed to the following day, and others redirected to other airports. 

Cologne/Bonn International Airport said it expected 131 of 136 planned passenger flights to be canceled on Monday. 

The strike action was set to start with employees on the night shift on Sunday heading into Monday, and run for 24 hours for participating workers, ending when Monday and Tuesday's night shift begins. 

Unions hoping for increased pay and promise of renegotiation  

Two trade unions, Verdi, Germany's second-largest union by membership, and Komba, had called on members to down tools.

It's part of a long-running dispute over pay and conditions, prompted in part by inflation and rising food and fuel prices in 2022, that has caused a series of strikes nationwide in recent weeks, often involving public sector workers. 

"Employees are putting pressure on their respective employers with the strikes, because in the previous negotiations with public sector workers no acceptable offer was put forward," Andrea Becker, a Verdi official for NRW, was quoted as saying. 

Becker appealed for understanding from passengers affected by the strike, saying her union had tried to mitigate the disruption by first announcing their intentions on Friday, giving people time to make other plans. 

According to Verdi, public sector workers at airports include ground control staff, firefighters and many people working for the state-owned airports in various capacities. 

Unions say no acceptable offers on table

Verdi says they are calling for a pay increase of 10.5% or a minimum of €500 monthly, plus a promise to renegotiate terms again in 12 months. 

In similar nationwide talks on pay and conditions, as Verdi sees it, "there has been no genuine progress in seven rounds of negotiations" dating back to 2020, with "no signal from employers so far that they want to find a solution at all." 

The other trade union, Komba, also said that local talks had ended with "a completely unsatisfactory offer" from employers. "Their behavior leaves us no other option. We must show even more clearly, how important and valuable the work of our colleagues in the public sector is," Andreas Hemsing of the Komba union said. 

"Because without airport firefighters absolutely nothing can function, we will send a very clear message of disappointment and frustration to employers on Monday with the strike." 

In the case of firefighters, their right to down tools was challenged in court in Cologne recently, with a compromise deal reached whereby a minimum crew of 24 personnel would have to be available to work — even on strike days. Some non-passenger flights, like medical transports and aid deliveries after the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, and military or government flights, will still operate. 

Earlier in February, seven major German airports — including the country's busiest hubs in Frankfurt and Munich — were subject to a similar strike action.

Last year, much of the air travel sector in Europe faced disruptions in the summer months as it tried to come to terms with a resumption of more normal service after the COVID pandemic grounded many flights worldwide and caused revenues to collapse. And later in the year, strikes by German pilots also led to delays and cancellations. 

Monday's strike will also affect services including local public transport, day care centers and some local government offices, with a series of demonstrations also planned around the state. 

msh/jcg (AFP, dpa, Reuters)

While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.