Germany: Millions affected by air and rail strikes

Millions of travellers in Germany are facing major transport disruptions due to strikes by rail and airport workers.

A two-day strike by Lufthansa ground staff coincided with a 35-hour strike by train drivers.

Railway operator Deutsche Bahn announced that only 20% of its long-distance trains were running and Germany’s largest airport, Frankfurt, had cancelled all departures.

The strike is the latest in a wave of labour unrest sweeping Germany.

The suspension is a separate dispute between national carrier Lufthansa and state railway operator Deutsche Bahn over wages and working conditions.

Deutsche Bahn predicted “massive disruption” on Thursday and Friday.

In addition to long-distance train travel, regional transportation has also been affected since early Thursday morning.

“Enough is enough. This is a huge nuisance, and I completely don’t understand why demands, some of which are legitimate, should be enforced through such draconian means.”

Walter Lehrer, a passenger on the train, told Berlin’s APTN news agency.

Flights have also been significantly reduced, with Germany’s Lufthansa announcing earlier this week that around 1,000 flights per day would be cancelled, affecting around 200,000 air passengers.

Only 10-20% of the original flight schedule was expected to take off, and flights from Hamburg and Berlin airports were also disrupted.

Germany has been on strike for months as trade unionists and service providers battle over wage increases and working hours.

The German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) is demanding that the working week be reduced from 38 to 35 hours without reducing wages, but Deutsche Bahn has refused.

Railroad operators accuse unions of failing to compromise.

“The other side has not moved an inch from its maximum position,” its spokesman Achim Staus said.

However, the head of GDL, Klaus Veselski, rejects this accusation and says that the salaries of executives with bonuses worth millions of dollars are not enough, even though the workers have to contribute to the company’s recovery.

A week ago, the GDL called off its latest round of negotiations, which had lasted a month.
At Lufthansa, the Ver.di union, which represents around 25,000 ground staff at the airline, is demanding a 12.5 percent increase in salaries, or at least a €500 increase per month.

The union is also seeking 3,000 euros in inflation compensation.

The company offered a 10% salary increase on Thursday after announcing that its 2023 profits had doubled to 1.67 billion euros from 791 million euros in 2022.

But Ver.di says that’s not enough, and despite Lufthansa’s high profits, ground staff barely earn minimum wage.

Marvin Lesinski, the union’s chief negotiator, said that while bonuses for executives would be significantly increased, “floor workers earning 13 euros an hour will not know how to make ends meet in Germany’s most expensive city. It may disappear,” he said.

Lufthansa has warned that the months-long strike will result in higher-than-expected operating losses in the first three months of 2024.