GERMANY: Passengers at Frankfurt airport brace for five-day strike following the failure of workers and management to reach a pay deal

Record ID: 340660

  • Title: GERMANY: Passengers at Frankfurt airport brace for five-day strike following the failure of workers and management to reach a pay deal
  • Date: 27th February 2012
  • Summary: FRANKFURT, GERMANY (FEBRUARY 26, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PASSENGERS AT DEPARTURE GATE PASSENGERS IN DEPARTURE HALL ELECTRONIC BOARD WITH DEPARTURE TIMES AND GATES PASSENGERS AT ELECTRONIC BOARD VARIOUS OF PASSENGERS A CHECK-IN (SOUNDBITE) (German) ALEXANDER BOEHME, PASSENGER, SAYING: "Well, that is somehow just. Because those guys earn very little and the suitcas
  • Embargoed: 13th March 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany, Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Domestic Politics,Transport
  • Reuters ID: LVA1BM8SBGRFO6RNFJXDRCGAFJRF
  • Story Text: Airfield workers at Frankfurt Airport will resume their strike for five days from Sunday after their representatives and airport operator Fraport failed to reach a pay deal late on Friday (February 25), trade union GdF said on Saturday (February 26).
    GdF said in a statement the strike would start at 2000 GMT Sunday, February 26, until 0400 GMT on Thursday, March 1.
    Frankfurt airport is Europe's third-busiest after London-Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle, with about 1,300 flight movements per day, more than half of them by Lufthansa.
    After the pay talks collapsed on Friday (February 24), Fraport dismissed GdF's demand as unjustified and unacceptable, while GdF blamed Fraport for making an offer lower than the original one from before the mediation process.
    Passengers at Germany's largest airport were divided - with some objecting to the strike, and others expressing their sympathy with the workers.
    "Well, that is somehow just. Because those guys earn very little and the suitcases are getting heavier and heavier. That is somewhat okay, not okay for flying but okay for the guys. Because they ask for more money. And that is understandable," said said Alexander Boehme.
    Other passengers say the strike would damage the reputation of Frankfurt as a hub for air traffic.
    "I think they do not help do themselves a favour with this strike," said Sarah Gold.
    "I would let them go, all of them. For an ordinary driver they earn a lot of money, I read what they earn. And they want 70 percent more, that is exorbitant. I would let them all go and then hire new ones," said passenger Bernd Gruber.
    A spokesman for Lufthansa said late on Saturday that, like with the previous walkouts, long-haul flights would be given priority and a list of Monday's flight cancellations would be available on its website from Sunday afternoon.
    Lufthansa was the worst hit by the strikes that started on February 16 and ran until February 22 with a break over the weekend.
    The workers affected were around 200 ground crew who guide aircraft to parking positions.
    Fraport has been using former ground crew to replace striking workers, with the number of flight cancellations dropping each day as staff became used to the role again.
    Just over 1,000 flights have been cancelled since last Thursday, the vast majority of them from Lufthansa, which has mostly scrapped European services to give priority to intercontinental travellers.
    END
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