Union ver.di sharply criticizes the employer DSW at Düsseldorf Airport / Unions / Economy / report-d.de

Disappointing communication

The Federal Ministry of the Interior for the implementation of passenger controls had awarded the contract for Düsseldorf Airport to DSW on June 1, 2020. As part of a transfer of operations, most of the employees switched from Kötter Aviation, which was previously responsible, to DSW. As a result of the corona pandemic, several works meetings have been organized for part of the workforce since October 2020, as an event for all employees would have exceeded the number of people permitted by the corona requirements. The DSW management did not take part in any of the meetings or personally introduce itself to the workforce in any other way. The union representatives criticize this, because even in Corona times, employees have a legal right to direct communication with the employer in order to address operational problems.

Digital works meeting

In order to organize a works meeting for everyone this year, the works council planned a meeting in digital form. This has also proven itself at other airports. In Section 129 of the Works Constitution Act, a special regulation was introduced by the legislator on the occasion of the Covid-19 pandemic in order to take into account the difficulties of face-to-face meetings or assemblies. The regulation applies until June 30, 2021. Nevertheless, the DSW refused to bear the costs for the Webex Meetings video conferencing tool for holding the works meeting. The union reacted indignantly and accused the employer of trying to thwart the meeting. This was followed by the passage to the labor court. The negotiation ended with the judge’s suggestion that the DSW should provide the Webex video conferencing platform. The deadline to comply with this proposal ends these days.

Statement by the DSW

When asked by report-D, DSW managing director Peter Lange emphasized on Tuesday (May 18): “The German security and security service at Düsseldorf Airport does not deny its works council the right to hold works meetings digitally. We consider transparent communication with our workforce to be sensible and necessary at all times, but especially in times of Corona. An open discussion culture and fair cooperation are important to us. For an online works meeting, we also bear all costs incurred without restriction. The works council proposed a video platform for holding a digital meeting, which after careful examination does not comply with data protection regulations. For this reason we could not approve the use of this platform. We communicated this decision to the works council in writing. We regret that the works council sought to enforce its request through a court. “In a constructive dialogue with our works council, we hope to find a solution for holding a digital works meeting quickly.”