German airports brace for Thursday strike

Berlin: Thousands of passengers in Germany face disruption on Thursday following a strike call by security staff at three major airports, the powerful Verdi union said.

The walkout was to begin at 3:00 am (0200 GMT) in the airports of Dusseldorf, Cologne-Bonn and Stuttgart, and was to continue until midnight, the union said Wednesday.

A warning strike took place on Monday morning at Berlin’s two airports, Tegel and Schoenefeld, forcing the cancellation of about 50 flights.

Verdi, which represents 23,000 airport security personnel, wants wages raised to 20 euros (USD 23) an hour from around 17 euros currently, an increase of around 17 per cent.

The BDLS employers association has offered pay increases of between 2.0 and 8.1 per cent.

The next round of talks is scheduled for January 23.