BERLIN. The strike by the Lufthansa ground staff has begun, announcing the cancellation of over a thousand flights from the German airports of Munich and Frankfurt for today. A protest called by the Verdi union from 3.45 am on July 27th to 6 am on the 28th.
The trade union initiative, in the incandescent climate caused by the personal emergency that is putting air traffic in a tailspin in the federal republic, will hit 134,000 passengers who will have to change their plans while they are on holiday. The union claims an increase in salaries of 9.5%, to suffer from a minimum of 350 euros. Measure that concerns 20 thousand employees.
Passengers affected by the disruption will be rebooked on alternative flights if possible, but the company said that “the available capacities are very limited”. Passengers without the possibility of rescheduling the flight – the Company always warns – “should not go to the airport because none or very few counters will be open”.
The strike was called by the Greens, one of the largest German trade unions, on wage bargaining. The union has made it known that a very strong participation in the strike is expected and that the protests could also affect other companies. Lufthansa’s chief of human resources, Michael Niggemann, criticized this decision saying that “’an escalation after only two days of negotiations that have so far been constructive is causing enormous damage to our passengers in the high season, as well as weighing down even more. the burden on our employees “.
Furthermore, Lufthansa believes that the strike could lead to new cancellations or delays of individual flights even for Friday.