German union calls one-day strike by Lufthansa ground staff

A German union has called on Lufthansa ground staff to walk out in a one-day strike on Wednesday in a dispute over pay.

The ver.di service workers’ union said the call applies to all Lufthansa locations in Germany.

It comes amid negotiations on pay for about 20,000 employees of logistical, technical and cargo subsidiaries of the airline.

The strike was set to start at 1.45am GMT on Wednesday and end at 4am GMT on Thursday.

The union aims to raise the pressure on Lufthansa ahead of the next round of negotiations on August 3 and 4.

Such “warning strikes” are a common tactic in German labour negotiations and typically last from several hours to a day or two.

This walkout comes at a time when airports in Germany and elsewhere already are seeing disruption and long lines for security checks.

Ver.di is calling for a 9.5% pay increase this year and says an offer by Lufthansa earlier this month, which would involve a deal for an 18-month period, falls far short of its demands.

Lufthansa human resources chief Michael Niggemann said in a statement that ver.di’s strike call “is all the more incomprehensible given that the employer side has offered high and socially balanced pay increases” despite a “tense” economic situation for the company and an uncertain economic outlook.