Planned warning strikes at seven German airports: unreasonable and cause great damage

In the collective wage dispute between the German trade union Verdi and the employers of the public sector, seven German commercial airports will be affected by strikes tomorrow (Friday), bringing air traffic at these locations almost to a complete standstill. Michael Hoppe, Chairman and Executive Director of BARIG—airline association of national and international airlines in Germany—comments:

“We consider the announced warning strikes to be disproportionate and unreasonable. Collective bargaining disputes are to be solved at the negotiating table, but these ones are being carried out once again at the expense of several hundred thousand passengers in Germany and abroad. It is not acceptable that such disputes repeatedly paralyze large parts of an entire country’s important infrastructure, with massive repercussions for passengers and companies – especially in these economically uncertain times. In addition to the immense economic damage, the strikes also cause severe disruptions in supply chains when hundreds of tons of air freight remain grounded not just in Germany but all around the world. Moreover, the transport of humanitarian aid supplies for the earthquake regions in Turkey and Syria will also be significantly impaired and unnecessarily complicated. Therefore, we urgently appeal to the involved conflict parties to return to the negotiating table and get into constructive dialogue. There must be no further strike action in this conflict for the good of society.”