A “warning strike” of 26.5 hours is not a warning strike, but excessive. 20,000 Lufthansa ground staff have been called on to go on strike – after only two days of negotiations and not “for a few hours”, as is usual with warning strikes. And the next day of the hearing is already fixed.
The outcry is expected to be large. Lufthansa calls the strike “unreasonable”. And Steffen Kampeter, Managing Director of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA), uses the opportunity to call for legal restrictions on the right to strike.
You should listen carefully to the staff when they complain about being overworked, being called in at short notice, overtime and poor pay. There is also a loss of wages due to inflation. The situation at the airports has been miserable for weeks. Hundreds of flights are cancelled, masses of suitcases do not reach their destination. People are running away from the industry. And those who stay take the frustration of travelers.
The argument that the strikers are taking the country and travelers hostage during the holiday season is therefore flawed. She may be correct in the case of ego trips by the engine driver representative Claus Weselsky, who paralyzes half the traffic with his divisional union every few years. Personal interests and power games seem to be more important than better working conditions.
But the strike among ground staff is different. According to Ver.di, Lufthansa pays part of the workforce under twelve euros per hour, which will no longer be allowed from October. The low-wage business model works as long as the labor supply is high – but through the era of high unemployment, the opposite is now the case.
The aviation industry is past its fat years, at least for now. The collapse came as a result of the corona restrictions imposed. Like Ver.di, Lufthansa now has to put up with criticism. The group was saved from bankruptcy with nine billion euros from taxpayers’ money. At the same time, it was announced that 30,000 jobs would be cut – which is now taking revenge.
Lufthansa is not solely responsible for the fact that the cheap policies of the past boom years have reached their limits. But those who demand more and more from parts of their staff in an industry where people are running away without having more to offer also have to think about their business model. Striking employees shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Ver.di, on the other hand, should think carefully about the next step. Of course it is reasonable to go on strike when many people are affected. With “warning strikes” that aren’t warning strikes, however, the union runs the risk of doing their cause a disservice.
