Because "no acceptable offer" was made in collective bargaining, Verdi is going on strike at Cologne/Bonn and Düsseldorf airports from Monday. Passengers face massive flight cancellations and delays, air traffic could be completely paralyzed.
After the unsuccessful end of the second round of collective bargaining for the federal and local governments, the Verdi services union has extended its call for warning strikes. As of Monday, the airports in Cologne/Bonn and Düsseldorf are to be included in the strike in North Rhine-Westphalia, as Verdi announced in the state capital. Delays and cancellations are to be expected due to the strikes. Air traffic could partially come to a standstill at both airports.
The planned work stoppage begins at the airport in Cologne/Bonn on Monday night. The airport in Düsseldorf is to follow shortly thereafter. Due to the shift work, the strikes at both airports will end on Tuesday night. According to Verdi, the measures were announced at an early stage in order to provide relief. Travelers could fall back on alternatives. According to the union, the reason for the strikes is the collective bargaining for federal and local public sector employees, as well as local negotiations for ground handling workers and nationwide negotiations for aviation security workers.
"With the strikes, the employees are putting pressure on the respective employers because no acceptable offer has been made in the previous negotiations in the public sector," explained Andrea Becker, Verdi's state department head in North Rhine-Westphalia. So far, the employers have not accepted legitimate demands from aviation security employees.
Verdi and the civil service association had rejected an employer offer from the federal and local governments in the second round of collective bargaining on Thursday. Verdi boss Frank Werneke called the offer "completely unacceptable" on Bayrischer Rundfunk. There will now be more warning strikes. "It is absolutely clear that we are now able to act across the entire spectrum of the public service." The third wage round is planned for March 27th to 29th in Potsdam.
