Airport staff strike enters second day
Sunday 27 January 2013
Printable
EmailSecurity staff at two German airports demanding higher pay took their strike into a second day yesteray.
Nearly 80 flights were cancelled at Duesseldorf airport and 26 at Cologne.
The walkout by hundreds of staff at the two airports started on Thursday morning.
The Ver.di union is seeking a roughly 30 per cent pay increase for employees at security companies in North Rhine-Westphalia, where the airports are located.
Ver.di began stoppages at Hamburg airport last week to press its demand for a rise for security staff employed by contractors.
According to the union, 80 per cent of the security personnel work for a wage of €8.23 (£7) per hour.
But airport employers argue that they have already rejected a 9 per cent raise for other airport workers and that complying with the demand would cost jobs.
Similar action by security personnel in December also led to flight delays and cancellations at several German airports
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