German union announces strike at major airports

BERLIN

A German union has announced that it will stage a “warning strike” at the country’s busiest airports on Friday amid an ongoing dispute over pay and work conditions.

In a statement on its website on Wednesday, Ver.di said the one-day strike of ground staff, public service, and aviation security workers will begin in the early hours of Friday, and continue until the night.

Ver.di members working at seven airports, including the country’s busiest hub Frankfurt Airport, will stop performing their duties on Friday, according to the statement.

Major disruptions and flight delays were also expected at Bremen, Dortmund, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, and Stuttgart airports.

Meanwhile, Ver.di said it will take the necessary measures to ensure that delivery of humanitarian aid to the quake-hit Türkiye and Syria is not impacted by the strike.

The union is currently holding negotiations with public sector employers at the federal and local level, and the next round of negotiations is scheduled for Feb. 22-23.

"The employees are jointly putting pressure on the respective employers because no results have been achieved in the previous negotiations," the union’s deputy chairwoman Christine Behle said in a statement.