There is bad news for air passengers in Germany, with strike action causing major disruption at airports. Lufthansa was set to cancel almost 900
ADVERTISEMENTThere is bad news for air passengers in Germany, with strike action causing major disruption at airports.
Lufthansa was set to cancel almost 900 flights on Wednesday.
Public sector workers are demanding higher wages, with security and check-in staff among those taking part in the strike action.
Airport operators say it could take a day or two for services to return to normal.
Some passengers appeared to be sympathetic.
“If you don’t stand up for your rights, then you get squashed. So sometimes people need to stand up and, if it’s for a right cause, then there is no problem. We just have to understand,” said Oliver Munich, a traveller from South Africa.
Strike of the Union Verdi at German Airports on 26 & 27APR. Please check flight status https://t.co/zSjS3KxhcY before going to the airport.
— Lufthansa (@lufthansa) 26 April 2016
Similar strikes have taken place this week at street cleaning services, schools and swimming pools.
The Verdi union represents a wide range of public sector workers across Germany, or 2.41 million people in total. The strikes, which it classes as “warnings,” have been condemned by aviation associations.
Verdi chief Frank Bsirske defended the move in an interview with daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, saying the action was to speed up wage negotiations.
Verdi is asking for a six percent pay rise for its members. It rejected an offer of a three percent rise over two years in mid-April. Talks are due to resume on Thursday.