Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn

New strikes: Germany faces mega travel chaos

Double strike hammer in Germany: Lufthansa and train drivers are striking at the same time this week.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

Double strike in Germany: On Monday, the GDL and Verdi unions announced strikes for rail and air travel. These are to take place almost simultaneously this week. Travel stress for thousands of people is therefore inevitable. The work stoppages are also likely to be felt in Austria.

The rail freight services are to go on strike from Wednesday, 6 pm, until Friday, 5 am. Passenger transport will then follow from Thursday, 2 a.m., and is scheduled to continue until Friday, 1 p.m. This is already the fifth industrial action in the months-long wage dispute between Deutsche Bahn and the GDL union.

GDL announces so-called wave strikes
The strike will last 35 hours, said GDL boss Claus Weselsky on Monday following the renewed failure of wage negotiations with Deutsche Bahn. After that, there will be further strikes without announcements as so-called wave strikes. "We will announce strikes when we think it is necessary. This means that the railroads are no longer a reliable means of transport," he explained.

Lufthansa ground staff on strike from Thursday
Shortly beforehand, Verdi had called for warning strikes at Lufthansa. All ground staff are to strike on Thursday and Friday. The strike is to begin at 4 a.m. on Thursday and end at 7.10 a.m. on Saturday. This will also lead to considerable restrictions in air traffic. Different times will apply for freight and technical services, in some cases as early as Wednesday evening. Lufthansa spoke of 59 hours, which added up to 145 hours of warning strikes with the previous rounds.

Fifth industrial action in the rail collective bargaining dispute 
Following the breakdown of collective bargaining between Deutsche Bahn and the train drivers' association GDL, the latter's boss Claus Weselsky announced a new strike on Monday. This is the fifth industrial action in the months-long wage dispute.

A double strike hammer in Germany: Lufthansa and train drivers are simultaneously walking off the job this week.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

The union broke off the most recent round of negotiations on Thursday after around four weeks. "This strike will last a total of 35 hours. 35 hours so that everyone in the country realizes what we are talking about: the 35-hour week," said Weselsky.

This strike will last a total of 35 hours. 35 hours so that everyone in the country realizes what we are fighting for: the 35-hour week.

Claus Weselsky, Chef der Lokführer-Gesellschaft GDL

The GDL and Deutsche Bahn have been fighting for a new collective agreement for months. The sticking point is the union's demand for a reduction in the working week from 38 to 35 hours for shift workers without financial losses.

(Bild: AFP)

Lufthansa: 200,000 passengers affected
As far as Lufthansa is concerned, as many flights as possible are to be grounded on Thursday and Friday in order to increase the pressure on the Lufthansa Group. According to Lufthansa, around 200,000 passengers are likely to be affected.

"There will be far more strikes than negotiations"
Chief Human Resources Officer Michael Niggemann accused Verdi of deliberately seeking escalation: "There are far more strikes than negotiations." The union is harming the company, hundreds of thousands of customers and employees with its uncompromising stance. "Unlike in many other areas where Verdi is on strike, our customers have alternative choices due to international competition." The union leadership is ignoring this.

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In parallel, collective bargaining negotiations are also underway for the approximately 25,000 employees of private aviation security companies at the larger German airports. It cannot be ruled out that these colleagues will join the Lufthansa employees, a spokesperson said on request.

In the previous waves of strikes by ground staff close to passengers, each lasting just over a day, Lufthansa had canceled between 80 and 90 percent of the program, resulting in hundreds of flights being cancelled, particularly at the Frankfurt and Munich hubs. If the aviation security staff also go on strike, there is a risk that the airports will be completely closed to passengers because no one could be checked before entering.