Union all-day strike paralyses activities at Berlin airport

 

BERLIN – Berlin’s international airport was subject to an all-day strike on Monday starting at 3:30 am (0130 GMT) and ending at midnight in the latest industrial action by trade union Verdi.

The strike affects aviation security, passenger and goods control, as well as other service personnel positions. It is the third major strike at Berlin-Brandenburg Airport (BER) this year.

The airport announced that no passenger aircraft would be able to take off from BER on Monday. Arrivals are possible, but it is up to the airlines to decide, an airport spokesperson told dpa.

The strike comes as the union and the association of flight safety employers (BDLS) negotiate on pay, with talks concerning bonuses for night, weekend and public holiday work as well as regulations on overtime pay.

A new round of talks is set to take place on April 27 and 28.

“We once again urge the BDLS to present a negotiable offer on April 27 and 28 and not to continue playing for time, otherwise there is a threat of further strikes in air transport in May,” Wolfgang Pieper of the Verdi trade union said in a union statement at the weekend.

In the past few days, there have been strikes at the airports of Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden.

During a strike at BER in mid-March, all departures were cancelled, and at the end of January all landings of commercial flights were cancelled. At that time, employees of the airport company and ground handling services also went on strike together with the security staff.