Sharjah24 – AFP: German national carrier Lufthansa is braced for further travel upheaval as the country's powerful Verdi union called on ground crew to strike on Wednesday in a row over higher wages.
The stoppage from 0145 GMT on Wednesday until 0400 GMT on Thursday will cause "major flight cancellations and delays", Verdi warned on Monday.
The walkout at one of Europe's largest airlines adds to a troubled summer season at airports across the continent as eased coronavirus restrictions have boosted tourism demand, but chronic staff shortages have left passengers grappling with flight disruptions, long queues and lost luggage.
Lufthansa has already scrapped around 6,000 flights this summer to cope with the chaos.
The Verdi union, representing around 20,000 Lufthansa ground staff, is seeking a 9.5-percent pay rise, or at least 350 euros ($360) per month. It also wants a minimum hourly wage of 13 euros.
The union says management's offer so far "does not come close to compensating for inflation" which stood at 7.6 percent in Germany last month.
Lufthansa ground staff "urgently need more money and they need relief, for themselves and for the passengers", said Verdi vice-president Christine Behle. "The employers' offer is not enough."
There is currently a shortage of more than 7,000 employees in Germany's aviation sector, the IW economic institute recently calculated.
Many airport workers found jobs in other sectors when travel demand collapsed during the pandemic, and they have not returned now that tourism has bounced back, the economists found.
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