FRANKFURT: Germany braced for more travel misery after unions on Monday called for renewed walkouts at Lufthansa and rail operator Deutsche Bahn, amid escalating rows over inflation-busting pay rises. Lufthansa ground staff will stage a two-day strike from Thursday, the powerful Verdi union announced, accusing management at the airline group of showing “no willingness” to come up with an improved offer.
The stoppage would impact passenger services from 0300 GMT on Thursday until 0610 GMT on Saturday, Verdi said.
Some 200,000 air travellers would be affected, Lufthansa warned. The strike call comes less than a week after ground staff at Lufthansa’s technical support and aviation training units downed tools. That walkout, however, did not affect passenger travel.
A one-day strike by Lufthansa ground staff in Germany last month already affected some 100,000 passengers, with between 80 and 90 percent of the airline’s commercial flights grounded. Verdi’s chief negotiator Marvin Reschinsky said it was “regrettable” that passengers would again see their travel plans disrupted. “By ignoring our request to negotiate, Lufthansa is telling us that it will only move when the pressure increases further,” he said. Verdi is seeking pay rises of 12.5 percent for the workers it represents, or a minimum of 500 euros ($542) more a month.__The Nation
