As of: 03/15/2022 6:47 p.m
In the middle of the spring break, all scheduled departures at Hamburg Airport were canceled on Tuesday. The security checkpoints were closed due to a warning strike by security personnel. This will also affect Wednesday.
Travelers at Hamburg Airport have to prepare for the aftermath of the all-day warning strike by aviation security forces on Wednesday. After the cancellation of all departures on Tuesday, the flights will be heavily used on the following day. The airport company announced this on Tuesday. “Hamburg Airport expects a particularly high number of passengers and at times a heavy rush at the security checkpoints,” it said. All passengers are asked to arrive early on Wednesday, plan more time and also reduce luggage to a minimum.
Many flights rebooked to Wednesday
In the nationwide collective bargaining dispute between security forces at airports, the ver.di union called on Tuesday to stop work for 24 hours. The 87 departures actually planned for the day were all cancelled. In order to compensate for the canceled flights, the airlines made many rebookings for Wednesday. 102 take-offs and 97 landings are currently planned for the day at Hamburg Airport.
Long queues at the airport in the morning
Despite the announced strike, many passengers came to Hamburg Airport on Tuesday morning. But since all 87 departures were canceled, long queues formed. In the afternoon, the situation at Terminals 1 and 2 had eased considerably. As for arrivals, 18 out of 89 scheduled landings were cancelled.
Nationwide collective bargaining
A total of around 1,000 security guards are employed at Hamburg Airport, for whom a new collective agreement is to be negotiated.
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There are still holidays in Hamburg this week. You know that and wish everyone a nice holiday, said ver.di negotiator Wolfgang Pieper. Because of the behavior of the employers, however, one is forced to put pressure on before the round of negotiations on Wednesday and Thursday. The trade union ver.di and the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS) are currently negotiating a new collective agreement for around 25,000 security forces nationwide. Three rounds of negotiations had remained without result. In addition to Hamburg, Munich and Frankfurt airports were also affected on Tuesday, as well as Stuttgart and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden. Security forces had already gone on strike in Düsseldorf, Berlin, Bremen, Hanover, Leipzig/Halle, Munich and Cologne/Bonn on Monday.
Ver.di demands more salary and equality
In the collective bargaining dispute with the aviation security company (BDLS), the Ver.di union is demanding at least one euro more per hour. In addition, it is about putting different groups that take on the same tasks, but are paid differently for them, on an equal footing. A so-called “air security assistant” earns €19 per hour according to the tariff – but other employees less. The same applies to an adjustment of wages in the federal states – according to Ver.di, the security guards earn less in the east than in the west. Three rounds of negotiations had so far remained unsuccessful. Both sides want to meet on March 16th and 17th in Berlin for further negotiations.
AUDIO: Flight cancellations and delays due to strike at Hamburg Airport (2 min)
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The strike falls during the Hamburg spring break
“We know that there are still holidays in Hamburg and we sincerely wish everyone a nice holiday. Unfortunately, due to the behavior of the employers, we are forced to put noticeable pressure on before the upcoming round of negotiations on March 16th and 17th,” said ver. di negotiator Wolfgang Pieper, according to a statement from his union on Monday. “Out of solidarity with our colleagues in Frankfurt and Stuttgart” it was decided to join their warning strikes at the security service provider Frasec.
Further information
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