Collective bargaining conflict: Warning strikes at Cologne/Bonn and Düsseldorf airports bypassed

The warning strikes at Cologne/Bonn and Düsseldorf airports are over. Flight operations are back up and running, said a spokesman for Cologne/Bonn airport. Düsseldorf airport announced that the warning strike was over, but delays could still occur. Almost 50,000 passengers were affected by the strikes on Monday, the airport association ADV announced.

The wave of strikes in the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations for the public sector hit airports in North Rhine-Westphalia for the first time: at Düsseldorf Airport, more than half of the 334 planned take-offs and landings were cancelled due to the one-day warning strike. At Cologne /Bonn Airport, 106 passenger flights were cancelled. That corresponds to two thirds of the planned connections.

According to Verdi, 500 employees took part at Düsseldorf Airport. Employees who organize baggage transport to and from aircraft were called to the warning strike. At Cologne Airport, the action had already begun on Sunday evening with several hundred strikers. Individual passengers were taken by bus to other airports in Dortmund or Paderborn. Düsseldorf and Cologne airports are the largest airports in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The warning strikes are intended to increase the pressure in the ongoing wage negotiations for the public sector. Verdi is demanding an eight percent pay increase for federal and municipal employees, but at least 350 euros more per month and three additional days off. The third round of negotiations is scheduled to begin on March 14.

For almost three weeks, employees in individual municipalities and departments in North Rhine-Westphalia have been on strike for days at a time. Among others, employees in daycare centers and garbage collection services as well as bus and train drivers have stopped work.