Ground staff strike at Hamburg airport begins over wage dispute

DPA
·2 min read
A view of the deserted Hauptbahnhof Nord subway station due to a warning strike. Over 80 cities were called to go on a warning strike as part of the nationwide wage dispute in regional negotiations by the Verdi trade union. Rabea Gruber/dpa
A view of the deserted Hauptbahnhof Nord subway station due to a warning strike. Over 80 cities were called to go on a warning strike as part of the nationwide wage dispute in regional negotiations by the Verdi trade union. Rabea Gruber/dpa

A day after a one day strike by aviation security staff at many German airports, another strike has come into force at Hamburg Airport.

The Verdi union had called on ground handling staff to stop work from 3:00 am (0200 GMT) to 11:59 pm on Friday. According to the airport, the consequences for passengers should be limited.

Initially, five departures and three arrivals were cancelled in the morning, according to the airport's website. The majority of these were flights to and from Helsinki and Munich, the statement said.

Hamburg Airport had originally planned 135 departures and 132 arrivals with over 37,000 passengers for Friday.

At the airport, employees of the service providers Groundstars, Stars and Cats have been called out on strike.

According to the union, they are responsible for loading and unloading aircraft, providing technical equipment, pushing back aircraft, baggage handling, de-icing aircraft and cleaning the interiors of aircraft.

With the strike, Verdi wants to push for the demands of around 900 employees. These include an inflation compensation bonus of €3,000 and a wage increase of €200 plus a 5.5 % payrise with retroactive effect from January 1. The next negotiation date is scheduled for February 19.

A sign reading "Warning strike" hangs at a BVG bus depot in Müllerstrasse. Over 80 cities were called to go on a warning strike as part of the nationwide wage dispute in regional negotiations by the Verdi trade union. Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/dpa
A sign reading "Warning strike" hangs at a BVG bus depot in Müllerstrasse. Over 80 cities were called to go on a warning strike as part of the nationwide wage dispute in regional negotiations by the Verdi trade union. Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/dpa
A view of a closed subway station due to a warning strike. Over 80 cities were called to go on a warning strike as part of the nationwide wage dispute in regional negotiations by the Verdi trade union. Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/dpa
A view of a closed subway station due to a warning strike. Over 80 cities were called to go on a warning strike as part of the nationwide wage dispute in regional negotiations by the Verdi trade union. Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/dpa