GERMANY: Over 500 flights cancelled as Lufthansa staff strike

Record ID: 341102

  • Title: GERMANY: Over 500 flights cancelled as Lufthansa staff strike
  • Date: 21st March 2013
  • Summary: FRANKFURT, GERMANY (MARCH 21, 2013) (REUTERS) LUFTHANSA PLANE PARKED LUFTHANSA VEHICLE LUFTHANSA SIGN ON TERMINAL BUILDING VARIOUS OF STRIKING STAFF EMPTY CHECK-IN DESKS DEPARTURES BOARD SHOWING FLIGHTS CANCELLED LUFTHANSA WORKER HOLDING BANNER (SOUNDBITE) (German) SPOKESPERSON FOR VERDI TRADE UNION, GEROLD TSCHAUB, SAYING: "It is all about the wage negotiations for the c
  • Embargoed: 5th April 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA561WZZG2SRJB9G0MWTYO0284M
  • Story Text: Deutsche Lufthansa cancelled more than 500 flights on Thursday (March 21) after German union Verdi called on 33,000 workers at the company to go on strike over a wage dispute.
    The strike is expected to last for about five hours from 5am (0400 GMT), setting the stage for the next round of wage talks on Friday (March 22).
    Efforts by big European airlines such as Lufthansa and Air France-KLM to shrink costs in the face of soaring jet fuel prices and fierce competition from Middle Eastern airlines and low-cost carriers have fanned tensions with workers.
    In negotiations that started last month, Germany's Verdi is demanding a 5.2 percent increase in wages for 12 months for employees at Lufthansa Cargo, Lufthansa Technik, Lufthansa Systems, catering unit LSG Sky Chefs and ground crews, as well as a commitment by Lufthansa to safeguard jobs.

    "We expect Lufthansa to acknowledge this move, then we will try to get some results at the negotiating table so that further strikes will not be necessary, but if Lufthansa sticks to its current strict position then we cannot rule this out for the future," Gerold Tschaub, a spokesperson for Verdi in the German state of Hesse told Reuters TV.
    Lufthansa, Europe's biggest airline by revenue, has said it wants to freeze pay and ask employees to work one hour more each week to help it to remain competitive in a tough market. Verdi called that counter-demand a "provocation" and called on Lufthansa to make a new offer.
    Thursday's strike will affect operations across Germany, though Hamburg and the airline's main hub in Frankfurt will be most affected, the union said.
    A list posted on the airline's website on Wednesday (March 20) afternoon showed a total of 514 cancelled flights, mostly to German and European destinations. Lufthansa said it aims to get most intercontinental flights off the ground despite the strike.
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