Germany: More than 2.3K Flights Cancelled Due to Strikes

Facts

• On Friday, more than 2.3k flights were canceled as aircraft were grounded at seven major German airports after ground crew workers staged a walkout. The strike comes as unions Verdi and the Civil Service Association demand a 10.5% increase in pay for workers.¹
• Romania's foreign minister was just one of the nearly 295K passengers impacted by the delays and cancellations. The travel woes come as delegates are set to arrive for the Munich Security Conference.²
• Verdi announced on Wednesday that major airports in Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Dortmund, Hanover, and Bremen would be at a standstill on the day of the strike. The union issued the warning to provide travelers two days to prepare and report that aid flights to Syria and Turkey would not be impacted.³
• During the morning hours, airport terminals were empty proving that the warning time provided by the union was received by passengers. Ralph Beisel of the ADV [German Airports Association] said, 'when we look at the airport terminals this morning, it reminds us more of the worst days of coronavirus than a warning strike.'⁴
• Verdi is leading the negotiations for better wages to combat the cost-of-living increase for public sector workers, airport ground crews, and aviation security staff. The union said negotiations have yet to yield results.⁵
• Behle, in her statement, added, 'Inflation, the high costs of energy and food are pushing most employees into insecure situations.' She believes that wage increases from the strike will also serve as a recruiting tool to make the airport industry more attractive to potential recruits, reducing worker shortages.⁶

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²Dw.com (a), ³Dw.com (b), ⁴Reuters, ⁵The local germany and ⁶Iamexpat.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by The hill. German labor laws set workers up for successful and long-term careers with participation in union industries. Unions represent power in the workforce and show workers that they are valuable components of the workplace. When changes are made in the workplace, German workers are in a better place to work with employers to advance safety and strategy. Other countries, such as the US, could benefit from a similar unionized system to avoid controversial, inadequate, and ineffective workplaces.
• Narrative B, as provided by Airport technology. While Verdi has a history of loud and public strikes demanding better pay, the results have not amounted to the hype. A March 2022 strike involved over 25K workers and disrupted countless flights and passengers, yet it only yielded a deal that netted wage increases less than inflation. For a bad deal, Verdi displayed uncooperative behavior and damaged German's economic recovery post-pandemic. Clearly, action needs to be taken on behalf of suffering workers, but neither Verdi nor their boisterous strikes are the appropriate way.