The Lufthansa ground staff are no longer on strike. The walkout that began early Wednesday morning "ended at six o'clock," ver.di representative Marvin Reschinsky told the AFP news agency. "The employees have resumed their work and flight operations can take place regularly."
There are no planned flight cancellations, said a Lufthansa spokeswoman. Busy days can be expected at the airports as Baden-Württemberg has started its summer holidays and Bavaria will follow at the weekend.
More than 130,000 passengers affected by strike
In the middle of the summer travel season, Lufthansa ground staff had largely brought the airline's operations to a standstill with a strike. The airline canceled almost all flights at the Frankfurt and Munich hubs, and Lufthansa feeder flights from the capital's BER airport to Frankfurt and Munich were also canceled. Lufthansa spoke of around a thousand canceled flights, with more than 130,000 passengers reportedly affected.
The second round of collective bargaining between Lufthansa and ver.di for around 20,000 ground workers was unsuccessful. The union is demanding 9.5 percent more wages and a minimum hourly wage of 13 euros for a twelve-month period.
Lufthansa submitted an offer consisting of fixed amounts and a component dependent on business development with a term of 18 months. Negotiations are scheduled to continue on August 3rd and 4th in Frankfurt am Main.
Union demands: Wissing should mediate
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing meanwhile called on ver.di and Lufthansa to reach a rapid agreement on the collective bargaining dispute. "Responsible and fast negotiation is appropriate after air traffic already has enough problems to deal with," Wissing told the "Bild" newspaper. The conflict must be resolved "within the framework of collective bargaining autonomy". "Both parties to the collective bargaining agreement should think of the travelers and not settle their dispute on their backs."
The Union campaigned for Wissing to get involved in the collective bargaining dispute. "Mister, bring the collective bargaining parties to the negotiating table. Take your responsibility for German air traffic and make sure that people can finally fly on their well-deserved vacation after two years of travel restrictions," said the deputy chairman of the CDU/ CSU parliamentary group, Ulrich Lange, of the "Bild" newspaper.
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