ST. CHARLES, Mo., BERLIN (Dispatches) - Roughly 2,500 Boeing and ground staff at Deutsche Lufthansa will stage strike in pursuit of a 9.5% pay claim, adding to travel disruption during the busy summer travel season.
Strikes and staff shortages have already forced airlines to cancel thousands of flights and caused hours-long queues at major airports, frustrating holidaymakers keen to travel after COVID-19 related lockdowns.
Beoing workers are expected to go on strike next month at three plants in the St. Louis area after they voted Sunday to reject a contract offer from the plane maker.
The strike is planned to begin Aug. 1 at Boeing manufacturing facilities in St. Charles County, St. Louis County and Mascoutah, Illinois, after the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 union voted down the contract, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Boing said in a statement that the Arlington, Virginia-based company is disappointed in the vote, but it will now use its “contingency plan to support continuity of operations in the event of a strike.”
A Boeing spokesman said the company’s contract offer included competitive raises and a generous retirement plan that included Boeing matching employee contributions to their retirement plan up to 10% of their pay.
Boeing is expected to give an update on its finances this week when it releases its next quarterly earnings report on Wednesday. Earlier this year, Boeing reported a $1.2 billion loss in the first quarter, but just last week the company announced that Delta Air Lines had ordered 100 of its 737 airplanes.
The walkout by staff at Lufthansa’s ground units this Wednesday will lead to additional cancellations and delays, labor union Verdi said, as it includes workers with key jobs such as aircraft maintenance, and moving aircraft away from boarding gates so they can head to the runway for takeoff.
Lufthansa said the walkout was “incomprehensible” and would be a burden on both passengers and staff beyond the end of the walkout.
The strike will affect German airports including Frankfurt, Duesseldorf and Berlin, and will run from 3.45 am (0145 GMT) on Wednesday until 6 am (0400 GMT) on Thursday.
Verdi last month demanded a 9.5% pay rise, or at least 350 euros ($368) more per month for 12 months, for around 20,000 workers who it says are being squeezed by inflation and have been overworked due to staffing shortages at airports.
Lufthansa had offered an increase of 150 euros per month for the rest of this year and another 100 euros more from the start of 2023, plus a 2% increase from mid-2023 dependent on the company’s financial results.
Verdi rejected the offer, saying it was insufficient to offset soaring inflation, which hit 8.2% in Germany in June.
The workers “urgently need more money and they need relief - for themselves and for the passengers”, Verdi deputy chief Christine Behle said in Monday’s statement.