German trade union calls on Lufthansa ground staff to strike again
The trade union Verdi has called on Lufthansa's ground staff to go on strike on Wednesday.
Airports in Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin and Düsseldorf will be affected, a Verdi spokesperson said early on Monday.
"As all ground staff from maintenance to passenger and aircraft handling are being called out on strike, there are likely to be major flight cancellations and delays," Verdi wrote in a statement on Monday morning.
The strike is in response to ongoing Lufthansa Group-wide wage negotiations for the approximately 25,000 ground crew employees at Deutsche Lufthansa, Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Cargo, among others.
An offer from the employers in the second round of negotiations on January 23 was rejected - the proposed pay increases were perceived as too low.
There have been widespread disruptions due to industrial action at German airports recently. On Thursday last week Verdi ordered security staff out on strike at several major airports.
Verdi called Thursday's strike to demand pay rises of €2.80 ($3.02) per hour for about 25,000 workers at private aviation security firms. The companies had rejected the demand as too expensive, saying it would cost €250 million a year.
Collective bargaining talks are scheduled to resume on Tuesday.
On Friday last week Verdi ground handling staff went on strike at Hamburg airport to demand a pay rise.
